The World Inverted
by rowan-greenleaf
Summary: Draco doesn't remember their past together and now she's just a Weasley to him. Ginny will do anything -jump through all the hoops, pose as an interior decorator, tap dance -ANYTHING- to break the spell that erased his memory and make him love her again.
1. Black As He Painteth

**Author's Note: **As promised, here is the sequel to _**Ginny the Dragon Slayer. **_If you haven't read it, you don't really need to. This fic is continuous with it, but it's a stand alone, as well. But read it! And read my other fics while you're at it! u_u

Okay, shameless self promotion moment over. Enjoy this fic, and please be patient, it starts out a bit slow, but picks up the pace a little later.

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**The World Inverted**

**Chapter One: "What Was Written" **or **"Black As He Painteth"**

_Unadorned the meadow - hunger driveth the wolf out of the wood,  
The maidens chained and whipped within a dreary dungeon -  
And, fo! 'twixt the wizen roses a mossy grave;_

_"The Devil is as Black as He Painteth" -  
O Canvas! Wherefore?..._

_--_ Theatre of Tragedy

**X**

Draco Malfoy flew across the star-studded sky with his accustomed speed and grace. It was a cold night, and no amount of warming spells could make the chilling bite of the winter air any less harsh against the smooth skin of his pale cheek.

He was clad in the dark robes that he was now well known for wearing since the start of the war, his feet protected by knee-high dragon-hide boots of the finest make, as were his gloved hands.

His white-blond hair, cropped short along the sides, and long down the center, until it barely touched the collar of his black shirt, was covered by the hood of his cloak, which billowed softly behind him as he flew over the forest. He painted a sinister figure, flying across the night sky, as his shadow danced in the moonlit ground below, matching him step by step.

Known for his cruelty and his staggering rise to power amongst even the worst of Death Eaters, Draco Malfoy was more or less used to being seen as Voldemort's angel of death. The image of a dark robed, fair haired man, tall and lithe, with his wand drawn, was feared by most decent, hardworking people, and by some not so decent people, as well.

It was an image he had cultivated carefully, especially in those first, uncertain years, where he had felt that proving himself as a ruthless and faithful servant of the Dark Lord was almost as important to the cause as his work in the Order of the Phoenix.

And now, after all those years of serving as a double agent, the fight was over, the final battle had been won. Harry Potter had actually fulfilled his destiny by slaying Voldemort, and putting an end to the war.

This last part, the end of the war, was all Draco really cared for. He had sacrificed himself all these years, working for a cause for which he had no love, none at all. He resented it as much as he fought for it, would have laid down his life for it, without a moment's hesitation. But he hated it.

The real reason for his sacrifice was the beating heart of a woman, all red hair, amber eyes, a smile like sunrise, and everything that was Ginevra Weasley.

_Now we can be together. After all these years of being apart, of not seeing your face…_

He remembered her as he had last seen her, her lovely face contracted in pain, her beautiful, soulful eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Tears over him.

"Don't wait for me," he had snapped at her. She was sixteen, and he would be going to war, fighting for both sides, in equal measure.

They both knew he was likely to die for his betrayal. There was no point in tying yourself to a corpse, he reasoned.

But he had hoped, all these years, had fiercely hoped that she would wait. He knew she would.

Draco had sacrificed all for her that she would be safe, that she would live. She was the only thing that had kept him sane throughout these hard long years. Ginny.

She waited for him now. After tonight, he'd come to her.

_Thou didst swear…_No, he hadn't really. Not in words. But his heart, his entire soul as much as had.

Closing his eyes briefly, Draco allowed his hood to slip back so he could feel the biting caress of the wind through his hair as he flew. He saw himself land in the fields of Ottery St Catchpole, saw himself walk the stony path to her house, dropping his broom and removing his hood, saw himself wind his way through the garden, like he'd imagined himself doing, thousands of times. And he'd knock the door.

At the thought of her Draco leaned further into the broom, making his hard, lean body almost completely flat against the chill wind, and with a burst of speed, reached the Death Eater safe house that was his destination.

Landing lightly on the courtyard of the imposing mansion that would be invisible to Muggles, Draco hooded himself, and quickly drew his wand out as he approached the stone steps. Snow crunched under his boots as he walked, with only the moon and stars above for company.

All thought of Ginny vanished from his mind, all thought of anything. He emptied his mind, allowed himself to be a blank canvas, concentrating all of his attention on his surroundings, and what he meant to do.

Draco was naturally cautious, but he had learned to be methodically so over the years. The Dark Lord often sent him to finish off Death Eaters he was displeased with, and deep in his heart was the fear that one day he would unknowingly incur in the wrath of the by now inhuman Lord of all evil, and would find himself in the same position of his victims.

His well developed sense of paranoia, born from growing up with Lucius Malfoy for a father, would certainly serve him well now. Draco was by now widely recognized as the ultimate betrayer of the Dark Lord, of his own father, of his own legacy of powerful Dark Wizards. There were many, he knew, who would never forgive him his treachery.

Murmuring the words that would deactivate the wards briefly, and grant him passage into the building, Draco gripped his wand harder between his gloved fingers. He had already disposed of four Death Eaters tonight, but he knew, without a doubt, this one would be the hardest.

This one had one distinct advantage over the others, over Draco himself. Because of this, Draco would have to alter his modus operandi. Usually he would come in with guns blazing, quick, methodical, neat. He sometimes used swords, when it was a particularly important 'honor killing'. Sometimes, most of the time, the more practical and by now mundane _Avada Kedavra_.

But not tonight.

Tonight there would be words spoken, words exchanged. He owed him that much.

Draco entered the ancient building and kicked the snow out of his boots, giving his surroundings a cursory inspection. Satisfied that he hadn't been followed, he proceeded to climb the stairs, using a silencing charm to avoid any creaking.

He was sitting at the desk at the far end of the library, and for a moment Draco was involuntary brought back to his childhood, to the fluttering of fear in his gut, the quickening of his heart beat when he was summoned to his father's study.

Lucius hadn't changed much from the image Draco had in his memories; he still had the same silvery blond hair, hanging loosely over his shoulders, the same cold butcher's eyes, so similar in their color and their intensity to Draco's own, the same cold smile that never reached his eyes.

"So you've come, then," he murmured in his silky baritone, meeting his son's eyes. "I knew it was only a matter of time."

"Father," Draco said curtly, for all greeting.

Reaching up, his gloved hands drew back the hood of his dark robes, revealing a head of fair hair, and arrogant, delicate features that exhibited no emotion.

"Are you here to kill me?" Lucius demanded, giving Draco's wand a disdainful glance. "So this is what my son is reduced to? After being the greatest Death Eater that ever lived, he's now a vulgar hit man for the Ministry. A common, filthy traitor."

Draco took in his father's words, the bitterness in his tone, but his countenance remained indifferent. "I won't kill you father, not if you give up. Azkaban is not nearly as bad as it used to be, I hear."

"You disgust me, Draco," the older man spat, rising slowly from behind the desk. "After all we've been through, you remain nothing but a foolish child." Lucius looked at him coldly, his eyes glittering with malice, and something else. "I never told anyone your dirty little secret."

Draco's eyes narrowed as he continued to observe his father in silence.

"You never contacted the little wench, so at times I thought you must have forgotten her. I was willing to forget it, too. But I _know_ you. I know you better than you know yourself. And this was all about her, wasn't it, Draco?" he asked softly, his voice deceptively tender as he drew out his wand. "You've done this all for her. And now you suppose you'll drop me off at the Ministry, and then fly off to the little dirt cave where she lives, and fall at her feet."

"Father, that's enough," Draco warned, lifting his wand, his words unconsciously trying to prolong the inevitable.

Deep down he'd always known he'd end up killing his father one day. Ever since he was a child, he had known, somehow, and Lucius seemed to feel the same way.

As if reading his son's mind, he curled his sensuous lips with disdain, and said softly, "I always knew it would come to this, Draco. Even when I taught you how to duel, I knew I'd die by your hand, some day. But it will be worth it, believe me, it will be."

Draco could see that Lucius was by now completely deranged. It had been a long process, had taken long years to culminate, to reach this breaking point were a crazy, green light danced behind his father's eyes.

He had lasted longer than Draco had expected. Lucius had been long involved in the practice of consuming and sinister magics, had explored the root of all evil, and become intimate with it, doing truly despicable things. At some point he seemed to have crossed a line, and there would be no turning back now. Sooner or later it would have come to this.

_And for me, too,_ Draco thought_. Sooner or later I would have become like him. Easy is the descent…_

"I wish it wouldn't be this way, father," Draco said softly, and realized immediately that it was true.

After all those years of hating his father, of dreaming of a moment like this, the time had finally come, and he found it was not all he'd hoped it would be.

The fact remained that Lucius, despite being a murderous lunatic with no conscience and no heart, was still his father. He had suffered so at his father's hand, in a number of ways, but killing him wouldn't erase any of that.

"Hush, Draco," Lucius said calmly, raising his wand. "My dragon. It is written…"

There was something in his left hand, something made of gold, which shone with a malevolent red glitter.

Draco raised his own wand, knowing that this was the moment, and that he could very well die. He was more skilled than Lucius, but his father was more experienced.

He recognized the possibility that he would be the one killed, and was scared, not for himself, but for Ginny. Draco had long stopped thinking of his own life as belonging to him. It was hers, all of it. Even this.

"Goodbye, Draco," Lucius said softly, pointing his wand at his son.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA!_" Draco shouted, in the same instant Lucius cast an entirely different curse.

"_OBLIVIATUS AGNITIO!_" He had barely finished saying the words when the green jet that had shot out from Draco's wand hit him squarely in the chest, and he crumpled to the ground in the same instant the strange object he held blasted a blinding jet of red light at Draco.

The blast knocked the Malfoy heir to the ground, his dark robes falling around him like broken wings. His pale grey eyes remained open, but were unseeing.

In his mind there was a spark, that once ignited warmed to a glow that spread across his eyes, like a gossamer veil. He saw the image of Ginny, her lovely, open face, her amber eyes, and her hair, her wild red hair, framing her face, pouring down her back like a river of flames. She was turning to look at him, and already her warm eyes were smiling, and her full lips were rounding to say his name.

The image flashed across Draco's mind like a beacon, leaving a burning imprint of her in the back of his eyes. Slowly, it began to fade, until there was nothing left but darkness.

For a moment he was filled with an unspeakable sorrow, and his grief was so great it physically hurt him, but the moment passed, and the pain became no more than a lingering heaviness, adding to the already leaden feeling at the pit of his stomach.

He blinked, and tried to stand, but he was suddenly so very tired, his limbs so heavy, it really would be impossibly to move them. And then the world slipped away, and there was only darkness.

**X**

Ginny Weasley kneeled on the wooden floor of Twelve Grimmauld Place, the safe house of The Order of the Phoenix, concentrating on the bone-mending spell she was about to cast on the badly broken leg of her brother Fred.

"We did it, Ginny! That basilisk snogger is dead! Harry did it! The war is finally over!"

"Shh, Fred, please! Stop moving, relax, your leg is horribly-" she protested in vain, trying to curb the dangerously buoyant mood of the Weasley twin, who'd already nearly poked her eye out with his wand.

"Fuck it, to hell with my leg, Ginny! I would have given more than that if I'd had to. Voldemort's dead, Harry did it! And he's alive! We all are…"

Ginny finished the spell and watched, relieved, as her brother's leg took on a normal shape, as opposed to the sickening angles it'd had only moments before, when they'd both Apparated on the street outside the safe house, Fred leaning heavily against her as his leg bled alarmingly.

But he was safe now, and so was she. They all were. Only then did she allow for it to sink in. It was over. It was really over.

She sat back on her haunches, her strawberry red hair falling over her shoulder, as tears of relief and happiness filled her eyes, and she wiped away at them hastily. After all these years of hoping and waiting, she would finally be able to see his face. Now they could be together.

_Draco._

Harry had told someone he'd seen him, he'd been there in the chamber with Voldemort. He'd disappeared when the Aurors arrived, for the sake of his own safety.

Less than a handful of people actually knew that Draco Malfoy was a valuable double agent, the silent member of the Order of the Phoenix who was never at the meetings, but was instrumental in the defeat of the Dark Lord.

"Fred, I have to go home now…I have to wait for him!" she said hurriedly, and ran out the door, into the cold winter night. A moment later she had Disapparated, and was gone.

Once home at The Burrow, Ginny quickly wiped her face of the grime she had accumulated during this brutal day, in which she'd narrowly escaped her death a number of times. It was incredible, the presence of mind and serenity she'd had, even in the most critical moments. She understood she _had_ to live. She had to survive, for _him_.

Pausing to inspect her face in the mirror, Ginny ran to the window and laughed with delight as she watched all surviving members of the Weasley family Apparate outside, one by one.

There was Harry, oh Harry!

And Ron, and Hermione, and Charlie and his wife. There was Luna, and Fred and George. They had all survived.

Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest as she tingled with anticipation, for surely Draco would be here any minute.

She waited.

And waited…and waited.

**X**

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	2. The Girl Who Fainted

**The World Inverted**

**Chapter Two: " Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori " **or** "The Girl Who Fainted"**

_I am_

_surrendering_

_to gravity and the unknown._

_Catch me, heal me_

_Lift me back up to the sun_

_I choose to live…_

--"Gravity", by A Perfect Circle

**X**

Ginny Weasley sat at her desk, swiveling around in her high backed chair, biting absentmindedly on the tip of a quill.

Her office was the second largest at the Ministry's Department of International Affairs, but that didn't necessarily mean it was what you would call big.

Just large enough to fit her desk and chair, two smaller chairs opposite her desk, a bookshelf, some pictures hanging here and there, a fireplace, and a coffee tray.

She swiveled around full circle, lifting her high-heeled shoes to not slow the spin, and looked up to the wall across from her to see the smiling faces of her family: her mum and dad, her six brothers, Harry, Hermione, Fleur, Kara, Luna, and the assortment of offspring.

_We were big to start with,_ she thought, _but now we have enough for three Quidditch teams…_

Ginny smiled absently as she watched the group fidget while the picture was being taken. Whenever she thought of the war, she couldn't help but feel two intensely contradictory feelings, in equal measure: relief and bitterness.

Relief that they had all -incredibly- survived, and without any life threatening physical injuries. The emotional scars though…that was another thing entirely.

And bitterness…

Ginny knew no one understood her. It had been six months since his death, after all, and she hadn't seen Draco in the four years that led to it.

No one understood that after years of building herself up with the hope of seeing him at the end of the war, his death on the very night it ended sent Ginny spiraling into a pit of depression, and despair.

She'd had a nervous breakdown, and had to spend a few weeks at a clinic in Scotland to finally stop herself from picking up table knives with self-injuring intentions, while sitting down to her meals.

They had tied her to the bed, something that was particularly painful for , who had always suspected her daughter of mental imbalance after the Tom Riddle affair.

"But he's a hero!" Ron had said, moments before Ginny had lunged at him.

This was true, Draco was considered something of a martyr, now that the truth had come out about his instrumental role in the defeat of the Dark Lord. There was even talk about awarding him a posthumous Oder of Merlin, first class.

Ginny had laughed bitterly when she'd heard. _Dulce et decorum est, _indeed.

What was she supposed to do with a dead hero, anyway?

"You weren't the only who lost a loved one in the war…" her best friend Sayira told her accusingly, only last week.

Seamus Finnigan had died in the final battle, leaving her friend prematurely widowed.

"Comb your hair! Change that stupid Cannons t-shirt, and for Merlin's sake, _eat_ something," Sayira had reprimanded her. "_You're_ still alive, remember? Stop trying to kill yourself through misery and starvation."

_But she has her baby…_Ginny couldn't help but think. _She has Flora, and I have nothing, nothing of Draco's. Nothing to live for…_

Snapping out of it, Ginny tapped her desk briskly with her quill, and cleared her throat. There was really no point in thinking about it, not here. Work was her safe haven from life. Here she was useful, she was , assistant to the head of the Department of International Affairs, and she had a department to…well, sub run.

When she got home to her flat, she would allow herself to mope, and be sad all she wanted. It was her prerogative, really. It was nobody's business if she still cried at night, or at odd hours of the day, and as long as she continued to dress appropriately for work, nobody should care that at home she wore the same t-shirt every day. She washed it, didn't she?

"_Ms. Weasley_!" Ken, her secretary, said mockingly as he burst in, dripping with sarcasm as per usual, and with his hands full of files. "Mr. Bolt wants you to pre-approve these statements before we send them off to Public Relations." He unceremoniously dumped the massive amount of paperwork on the desk in front of his boss, and watched as her face lit up with a smile.

"Ah!" she said, opening the first file. 1,000 files to go through now, two inter-departmental meetings this afternoon; never mind that she wasn't really required to sit in. This was going to be a busy day. _Excellent._

Ken glanced at her with a raised eye-brow. "Whatever," he said.

Turning to leave, he thought of something and paused. "Would you like some coffee, Gin?"

"Hmmrrfff, " she grumbled, not looking up.

"I'll take that as a yes."

**X**

"_GINNY_!" Ron cried, bursting through the fireplace in her small living room, on a Sunday morning. It was something about the way he'd said her name, something about his agitation, and the fact that he was still wearing pajamas, bright green pajamas, with a sailboat motif: Ginny suddenly knew that whatever her brother had to say was about _him_.

"Draco Malfoy's alive! He's back in England! It's all over the newspapers!" Ron blurted, breathing heavily.

Ginny merely stared back at him, unmoving, and for some reason this made her brother speak faster, and louder, as if she had somehow attempted to stop him.

"Lucius attacked him, the night Harry killed Voldemort, and he was out for a while, so they took him out of the country for safety reasons. He's been hiding out in Italy! Apparently he's got double nationality. He's been working from there, with the Ministry, helping to dig out Death Eaters. All the arrests we've made..." Ron trailed off, lapsing into silence as Ginny continued to stare at him blankly.

This was certainly not the reaction he had been expecting.

"Here," he said, hastily handing his sister a copy of this morning's _Daily Prophet_.

Ginny observed his outstretched hand, holding the paper, for a moment, and then reached out for it calmly, wondering at her steady hands, but not yet trusting her voice enough to thank him.

Turning to the newspaper she found that the entire front page was a spread on Draco.

'**A HERO RETURNS!**' read the headline in big bold letters. '**Draco Malfoy, secret member of The Order of the Phoenix long believed to be dead, returns home after months of undercover work!**'

Under this was a picture of Draco, with the same pale eyes, the same air of indifference those who didn't know him well enough to notice his subtle changes of expression were familiar with.

He was alive -_alive_- and he was walking out of the Ministry, past the crowd of reporters that had gathered outside to wait for him. His blond hair was cropped short, and there was an undeniable air of power, and self possession about him, which was striking in one so young.

The black and white Draco in the picture looked at her for a moment as he walked by, turning his beautiful profile to face the camera. His stunningly grey eyes met hers, and held them.

A moment later he turned away, and those who beheld him -in this case Ginny- got the distinct impression that they'd had their chance to catch his attention, and had been unable to retain it.

Ginny watched him walk out of the Ministry a couple of times more before dropping the newspaper to the floor. Without saying a word, she turned away from Ron, who had been watching her carefully for signs of joyful tears, or of screams and curses.

He was met with neither as Ginny sank down on her sofa, unable to talk for the lump in her throat. Her face, though alarmingly pale, was still devoid of emotion.

Her heart, which had all but stopped beating, resumed its work within her chest, which felt as strangely heavy as if some powerful hand were crushing it, implacably.

**X**

Her initial shock at the news had turned into elation, which in turn had become despair.

Ginny had waited for three days now. Waited every second, every minute of the days that went on, and on. But there had been no sign of Draco at the Burrow, where she'd temporarily moved back to, expecting he would try to find her there.

"WHY DOESN'T HE COME BACK TO ME?" Ginny demanded of Troy, the stuffed giraffe that had adorned her bed since she was seven.

He cringed and crawled under the bed.

"Why doesn't he answer my owls?" she demanded of the empty air.

_Why doesn't he come back to me?_

Concerned that her friend was once again teetering on the edge of a mental crisis, Hermione had made some time from her work as Transfigurations Mistress at Hogwarts to take Ginny out shopping.

"It will do you good to get out of here, and breathe some fresh air!" the brunette said firmly, silencing Ginny's "and what if he comes while I'm away" protests as they Flooed to the center of London that afternoon.

"Besides, it would be better for you if he _did_ come while you were away. Imagine his surprise at seeing his Ginny looking like a deranged… _hobo_…" the older witch commented dryly, giving Ginny's overall appearance a scornful glance.

The redhead scowled, but said nothing. She had dressed up fabulously during the first three days, expecting Draco would come any minute. Today she had decided to wear her usual garb, because despite her heated protests to the contrary, she had a feeling that Draco wouldn't be showing up.

_I don't know what's going on…_she thought desperately, but decided to brush those feelings away. If he didn't at least owl back by tomorrow, she would go look for him.

"Let's go to Madam Malkin's. We'll both be needing dresses for Percy's wedding," Hermione was saying, as she dragged Ginny in the direction of the shop.

"_Mioneeeee_!" she protested, "Why can't I just wear the dress I wore to his second wedding?"

"Because it won't fit you Ginevra," Hermione said sternly, "Look at you, you're skin and bone, you've lost at least twenty pounds since that second wedding, and you weren't meaty to begin with. You're looking a bit scare-crow-ish, and I'm sorry but it's true."

"Gee, thanks," Ginny commented, but said nothing further. She knew this was true, and didn't particularly care.

"And on that note," Hermione added, as they entered the shop. "We'll go to Scherbatsky's for high tea once we get our dresses. I have a craving for cucumber sandwiches..."

Ginny sighed and allowed herself to be towed all over London. There was really no arguing with Hermione when she got like this.

Once that particular ordeal was over, Hermione decided she needed to stop by Flourish and Blotts. Ginny was actually glad for this. She had always been an avid reader, and over the years -especially the past few months- had relied on it more and more to get through her everyday life.

Once there, the two friends split up. Hermione's pursuits were decidedly academic, while Ginny preferred science-fiction, and classic literature.

Perusing the bookshelves for the latest _Elves of the Lost Moon_ installment, Ginny noticed the elegant lines of a woman's back as she stood a few steps away, flipping through the new issue of _Witch Style_ magazine.

She wore an elegant blue robe of exquisite cut, and had the poise of someone who has had ridiculously vast amounts of money all her life. But that wasn't what caught Ginny's attention; the silky waves of silvery blond hair that fell down her shapely back did.

_That hair_…Ginny thought, feeling her heart-rate accelerate painfully under her black Chudley Cannons t-shirt.

A moment later, someone who smelled vaguely of sandalwood, vanilla, and fresh parchment, brushed softly past Ginny, and murmured a polite "excuse me", not bothering to look at her.

Ginny's stunned eyes followed the young man as he walked past her, and towards the blonde woman. His fair hair, which had fallen down to his shoulder blades the last time she had seen him, was now cropped shorter, barely reaching the collar of his fine green shirt.

Ginny hadn't yet seen his face, but she would recognize him anywhere, because over the years his image seemed to have become engraved in the backs of her eyelids, so that every time she closed her eyes, she saw him.

The tall, slender form, the beautiful lines of his body, the graceful stance; these were all things she had seen persistently in her mind's eye over the last few years, and here he was now, very much alive, and _real_, and barely a few feet away.

Ginny had imagined this moment a thousand times, but nothing could prepare her for this.

She took a step towards him, towards the image her eyes had cried over incessantly, had thought they'd never see again, but her legs wobbled, and she feared they'd give under her. Her entire body felt as if it was made of jelly, and her ears were buzzing as with the roar of the ocean.

"Draco!" she exclaimed, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth as he turned towards her.

His pale grey eyes, merciless in both their beauty and their intensity, beheld her coolly, and his face, which she knew by heart, had in it an expression she had never seen before.

Draco was looking at her with what could only be feeble expectancy, and indifference, written across his beautiful features.

"Yes?" he said, a little sharply. "Do I know you?"

From behind him, the blonde woman approached the two, concern and curiosity apparent in her lovely face, which was incredibly similar to Draco's. She placed a delicate milky white hand on Draco's arm, and looked at Ginny inquisitively.

Despite the tightness in her throat, Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The rushing sound of the sea in her ears became so loud, it drowned out the galloping of her heart.

She felt herself sway, and the last image she saw before she collapsed was Draco's beautiful face, pale and obviously distressed, as he reached out to her.

**X**

Hermione walked towards the fiction section of the book shop, knowing she would find a certain redhead nearby. Pausing only a moment to glance at Maureen Zinfandel's latest novel, she rounded a corner and was literally left with her mouth hanging open at the sight she encountered.

Lying on the floor, looking painfully thin and pale in her too-big jeans and black t-shirt, her blazing red hair draped over her small frame like a curtain, was Ginny Weasley. And hovering over her, with some of her long locks spilling over his arms, was the athletic frame of Draco Malfoy.

Hermione gasped loudly, drawing his attention, as well as that of the beautiful woman next to him, who, due to her striking resemblance to Draco, could only be Narcissa Malfoy.

"Granger!" Draco said just then, sounding both surprised and relieved. "So this must be Weasley's sister, then," he said, looking down at Ginny with a curious expression.

"Malfoy!" Hermione breathed, rushing to Ginny's unconscious form. "What happened?"

"Do you know this young lady?" Narcissa cut in gently, and Hermione realized the older woman was speaking to her.

"Y-yes m'am," she answered softly, looking at Draco with obvious shock and confusion, as she kneeled opposite him, with Ginny lying between them.

"Oh good," Narcissa said, smiling anxiously.

Her face uncannily resembled Draco's, but her eyes were black as coal, where his were stormy grey.

"She seems to have fainted, and I hate to leave her like this, but my son and I have an important appointment, and we really must be going."

They both looked at Hermione uneasily, and she realized the woman suspected Ginny of being some sort of deranged fan-girl.

Now that Draco, long known for his male Veela beauty and vast fortune, had been named a living hero as opposed to a dead one, he was by far considered to be the United Kingdom's most eligible bachelor, and was being stalked by all manner of women. Nothing new, really, but it must be getting wearisome.

It was equally obvious to Hermione that Draco had had no idea who Ginny was.

"But Malfoy…you… I mean…"

"What, you too, Granger?" he asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.

He smirked, but she sensed a certain weariness behind his words. "You want to thank me for my heroic actions? Send me a card, of better yet, a flower arrangement…one can never get enough of those, really."

"Really, Draco!" Narcissa laughed lightly, taking him by the arm, and leading him away. In her high heels she was nearly as tall as her son.

Standing there side by side, both of them tall and graceful and fair, they looked like two members of the royal Elven court, cleverly disguised as humans.

"We'll tell the clerk to call for some midi-wizards, dear," she told Hermione as they left.

"_Hasta nunca_, Granger," Draco said, and he had donned on his trade-mark smirk, but his eyes were on Ginny.

"Blimey..." Hermione said softly, borrowing Ron's favorite expression in times of crises.

She held Ginny's head in her hands, and brushed a lock of red hair away from her face gently before performing the Enervate Spell, to stall the redhead's inevitable questions.

"Oh, Ginny. As if you haven't been through enough…" she murmured sadly.

**X**

"Are you feeling better, darling?" Narcissa Malfoy asked her son, her brow furrowing with anxiety.

Ever since that encounter with the Weasley girl in London the day before, Draco had been in a foul mood, complaining of a splitting head-ache.

Narcissa wasn't sure of the relation between his symptoms and the sight of the girl, but she was sure this had something to do with it.

"Mmmff," Draco murmured for all answer.

He was lying on a chaise in the music room; his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, and his arms hanging over the sides of the armrests.

Narcissa had pressed a bag of ice to her son's head, and he was lying with his eyes closed. The top of his shirt was unbuttoned, his tie loosened, and his sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms.

Seeing him like that, fully grown and so casually male and beautiful, made Narcissa suddenly think of Lucius.

"Mother," Draco said thoughtfully, flipping his eyes open for a moment. "Did you see the way that girl looked at me in the bookstore? The way she said my name?" His beautiful features contracted into a frown. "It was as if she expected me to _know_ her, to remember her…"

"You _did_ remember her, darling," his mother said gently, "It took you a moment, but you knew who she was. I don't expect you were friends with a Weasley at school, and it's been years since you'd seen her last. And that other girl, the one with brown hair, you recognized her immediately. I'd say you did well…it's not going to be easy, _bebe_, you know that…"

Draco closed his eyes again, and replayed the image of the girl in his mind, the way she had looked at him, her big brown eyes round with shock. He had acted indifferently, but the truth was as soon as he saw her, his head began to pound incessantly, and he'd felt terribly upset.

For a moment, the briefest moment, he'd felt an unspeakable sadness, as if he'd lost something precious, and quite irreplaceable, but he didn't understand just what it was he'd lost, or why he felt that way.

There was something weird about that girl. He had not been happy to see her, quite the contrary, but he could not deny the effect she'd had on him.

Removing the ice bag from his head, Draco scowled.

She wasn't even that pretty. She was just too thin and disheveled looking, sickly, almost… But there had been a moment, when she'd swayed, and he saw that she was going to faint, when he'd reached out to her, and felt her beautiful hair, shining like copper, slip between his fingers; in that moment she had been almost too beautiful.

"Ever since I saw her…"Draco said softly, seeing her pasty white face in his mind's eye. "I've had this horrible headache."

Narcissa looked up from the tea she was pouring, and smiled. "Must be that unfortunate hair color. All that red hair…it's pretty to look at, but so hard to match with clothes…" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Draco, you've received 507 owls today. Aren't you going to open any of them?"

But she could see Draco wasn't listening; with his eyes half-closed, he seemed to be pained by something, as he lay there.

_Her hair, floating like a red, silky banner behind her as she fell to the floor._

He had never seen anyone faint like that, the way she fell, as if some invisible hand had been propping her up all along, and had suddenly moved away.

"Don't trouble yourself, Draco," Narcissa said quietly, snapping him out of his reverie. "That girl didn't look well to begin with. I'm sure her fainting had nothing to do with you, if that's what upset you."

What upset him? He didn't know what upset him. He'd felt awful these past few months, ever since he'd woken up to this new life of not remembering the most essential things about himself, of fighting for the simplest of memories, and being aware that time had passed , but not remembering anything that had happened to him in these past five years.

He kept hearing how he was a hero, all the daring, brave things he'd done for England. But he couldn't remember a damn thing.

It was strange, reading about himself in the news clippings Narcissa had kept all these years, and feeling as if he were another person entirely. Being famous, being chased by women, being thanked in the street.

There really were flower arrangements, dozens of them, lying about the mansion, and the letters, the thousands of letters from women all over the world that kept flooding in.

_To Draco, my hero…_one read.

He hadn't opened any more of those. He felt almost like an impostor, a fraud.

For a moment he thought of Harry Potter, odd as it may seem, and his bizarre situation of being a hero before he had actually done anything, when he'd first returned to the wizarding world.

_So this is what Potter felt like…_

It was strange, he'd felt no animosity towards Granger when he'd seen her. Nor did he feel hate towards Potter when he'd thought about him just now.

Even though the last recollection of them he had was a petty fight in the train at the end of his fifth year, Draco was painfully aware that a long time had passed since then. He may have not been able to remember anything, but he was well beyond schoolboy rivalries now.

If he'd spoken sharply to Granger at the bookstore, it was out of habit, and nervousness over what had just happened, more than anything. There was no real feeling behind his unpleasantness.

At the thought of Granger, his mind conjured the image of that redheaded girl again, lying unconscious on the floor, or the image of her, just before she fainted, looking at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, and something else, something he didn't quite understand.

**X**

She woke up with a start, sitting up on her bed, and looking around sharply. It must have been a dream, it had to be…

She had seen Draco, had seen him standing merely feet away from her, had said his name.

And he had looked at her as if she had been a stranger.

The scenes played out in Ginny's mind for the millionth time since they'd happened, and she still couldn't make any sense of it. It was the stuff nightmares were made of, having the person you love most in this world look at you like you were a total stranger and ask, "Do I know you?"

She was just too confused to feel any pain. There was no explanation for this, she just didn't understand.

"Ginny."

She turned her head towards the door, and discovered Hermione standing there, dressed in her teaching robes, a stern expression on her face.

"I stopped by, before my class. I have something to tell you, but I want you to promise me that you won't do anything crazy."

"Hermione, just tell me. What's wrong with him? Why did he look at me as if he didn't know me, as if he didn't remember me?"

"He doesn't, Ginny. He doesn't remember…Harry was at the Ministry today, and Kingsley Shacklebolt told him…" Hermione paused, and looked at her gravely. "Well, Draco was cursed with a memory erasing spell, one much more powerful than the _Obliviate_. He was attacked by Lucius, who was discovered dead, and with an object of Dark Magic on his body. It had a drop of Draco's blood in it, and apparently that's what magnified the spell. It completely erased all of Draco's memory."

Ginny looked stricken, but said nothing. She had already more or less pieced it together.

"He's recovered most of his memory…that time he spent in Italy, he wasn't really being debriefed by the ministry, Gin. He was recovering from the attack. He was in a coma for a long time, and when he finally woke up, he started remembering anterogradely. That means-"

"He remembers his childhood?" Ginny cut in.

"And his adolescence, but not all of it," Hermione said, nodding. "As far as they can tell he has absolutely no memory of his life five years ago to the day he woke up from the coma. That's a year before you and he…you know…"

"Lucius did it on purpose," Ginny said bitterly, clenching her hand into fists. "He did to stop Draco from coming back to me, that bastard…Oh Mione, what am I going to do?"

"Ginny, can't you…can't you _see_ him?" Hermione inquired.

Unlike Draco, whose abilities were known to less than a handful of people, Ginny's powers of Divination were well known, and had been heavily relied on by The Order of the Phoenix throughout the war.

The younger witch shook her head sadly. "No, Mione. I haven't been able to, not since the start of the war. I think he put up some sort of barrier to block me."

"He probably didn't want you to see what he was doing…" Hermione said softly, thinking of all the horrible stories they'd heard about Draco Malfoy during the war.

"Yeah well, it worked," Ginny said grimly, "I haven't been able to 'look in' on him since he left Hogwarts."

"Then that's what's stopping him from seeing you," the brunette said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Ginny wanted to know.

"Well, a barrier works both ways, Gin," Hermione explained. "You can't look in to see him, and he can't look out to see you, either. Lucius' spell wouldn't have been as effective if that barrier weren't there."

"You think so?" Ginny asked, looking worried.

"I'm sure," Hermione said, nodding grimly. "Malfoy's powers would have worked as a back-up. He'd have visions of you, memories in the form of dreams."

"Hermione…" the redhead began, "Is the spell Lucius cast reversible?" She turned the full intensity of her amber eyes on her friend, willing her to say it was.

But Hermione shook her head softly. "As far as we know- Ginny! What are you doing?" she demanded, when the younger girl jumped out of bed and started to rip her pajamas off.

"I have to go to work, Hermione," she said sharply, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to do anything crazy….yet."

**X**

Later that day, Ginny steeled herself for what she was about to do. Observing her image in the mirror of her office's bathroom, she corrected the smudged make-up under her left eye, and was pleased. She could look rather good, if she bothered to try.

She was wearing one of her 'power-suits', which wasn't a suit at all, but it sounded infinitely more powerful if she referred to it that way: a gray pencil skirt that displayed her long, beautiful legs, and a peach colored shirt, tucked in under her skirt, topped with a short jacket of the same material.

She wore one of her three inch spike heels, the ones with the ankle straps, to further give herself the sense of girl-power she desperately needed in order to pull this off.

Ginny had brushed her long hair vigorously, until it shone like new copper, and had clipped her bangs back, away from her face, which gave her a more adult look. Ever since she'd lost all that weight Ginny was distressed to note she looked to be about fourteen.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she lifted her chin and set her jaw with grim determination. _Hobo indeed,_ she scoffed, knowing she looked good.

Ginny was done moping, as far as she was concerned. Now that she knew Draco was alive, there was no point lamenting her dire luck; she had to get him back. She'd make him remember, somehow.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny walked out of the bathroom, to her Floo connection. This was a messy way to travel, but Ministry Floos could get you anywhere.

Apparating was simply out of the question: Draco had told her that there was a charm on the Malfoy Manor grounds, very similar to the one in Hogwarts. She would need to Apparate outside of the property, and wait for someone to let her in through the gates. That might not happen…

So, Floo it was. She'd just use the cleansing charm once she was there.

Standing in front of the fireplace, Ginny took a fistful of Floo powder, and tossed it in.

"Malfoy Manor!" she said clearly, and after a moment, stepped through.

**X**

"Madam, there is a young lady here to see Master Draco," Othello, the ghost butler informed Narcissa mildly.

If he thought her demand to be informed of Draco's visitors before him was strange, he didn't let on.

"What young lady?" Narcissa wanted to know.

"She arrived from the Ministry of Magic, but has not given her name, madam."

The blonde woman looked thoughtful.

Someone from the Ministry, again? Draco always got terribly upset when he spoke to them. They were always so obsequious, so very grateful for everything, so useless when it came to explaining what kind of a curse it was Lucius had used, and what was being done to revert it.

Privately, Narcissa was somewhat glad that the past five years had been erased from Draco's memory. If she didn't know better, she would have thought it a final kindness from Lucius. The last thing her son needed was to torture himself remembering those horrible things he'd done. Including the murder of his own father...

Narcissa shuddered delicately.

Somehow, it had seemed to her appropriate, when she'd heard. Poetic justice, if you will. She had loved Lucius passionately, but in the course of twenty-two years of marriage, he had managed to kill that, and had left no trace.

"Have her wait for me in West Wing, in the anteroom, Othello," she said after a moment.

She would see to this Ministry girl.

After more than twenty years of not being able to protect Draco from anything, Narcissa was overjoyed to be able to do it now. Never mind that Draco was a grown man, and a war hero to boot.

He had become so fragile, after this memory loss business, and depended on her completely for all things. Whether he really depended or she made herself believe he did made no difference to Narcissa. Her life's purpose was clear to her now.

Setting down her book, she gave herself a brief glance in the mirror before walking with her habitual grace towards the West Wing, her heels clicking rhythmically against the polished stone floor.

When she arrived at the anteroom, she found a smartly dressed young woman sitting at one of the chairs.

The girl stood to greet her, and Narcissa couldn't help but be impressed by how stylish and confident she seemed.

_Not the usual Ministry nincompoop, I see._

"Mrs. Malfoy," the young lady said, shaking her hand firmly. "I am here to see Draco."

Narcissa smiled, raising her eyebrows slightly at the familiarity the young witch used to refer to her son.

"Yes, so I've heard," she began, but stopped in mid-sentence to look at Ginny more attentively. "You're that girl! That girl who fainted at Flourish and Blotts!" Her countenance showed surprise and displeasure, but Narcissa was too well bred to let her manners reflect her true feelings. "Really, this is most unusual," she said blandly.

"I know," Ginny said, softly, but her eyes had a set look of determination that belied her gentle manner. "Mrs. Malfoy, please. I need to talk to Draco. It's very important that I do because…because…"

Narcissa raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Because I love him…and he loves me, you see. I was his girlfriend, before the war…"

The blond woman's eyebrows shot up further, and she looked at Ginny with unconcealed shock.

"Draco's girlfriend? A _Weasley_?"

**X**

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**A/N**: Hi! I just wanted to thank those who found it in their hearts to review, especially those who read GtDS and joined in on this new fic, and those who missed class to read the first chapter!(You know who you are :P)

I promise from here on in the story will get better because there'll be constant D/G friction. Thanks for being patient!

And **PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	3. The Girl Who Lived To Love Harry Potter

**The World Inverted**

**Chapter Three: "The Reason" **or **"The-Girl-Who-Lived-To-Love-Harry Potter"**

_The moon in the bureau mirror  
looks out a million miles  
(and perhaps with pride, at herself,  
but she never, never smiles)  
far and away beyond sleep, or  
perhaps she's a daytime sleeper._

_  
By the Universe deserted,  
she'd tell it to go to hell,  
and she'd find a body of water,  
or a mirror, on which to dwell.  
So wrap up care in a cobweb  
and drop it down the well_

_Into that world inverted  
where left is always right,  
where the shadows are really the body,  
where we stay awake all night,  
where the heavens are shallow as the sea  
is now deep, and you love me._

--"Insomnia", by Elizabeth Bishop

**X**

"Draco's girlfriend, a _Weasley_?" Narcissa said incredulously, her fine eyebrows shooting up her smooth forehead.

Ginny scowled. "I see you've heard of us…" she said dryly. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, a Malfoy and a Weasley, but we are _in love_…we were together for four months, until Lucius found out-"

"Lucius _knew_?" Draco's mother cut in, sounding even more flabbergasted.

"Yes, he knew. He threatened to have me killed, or worse, to send me over to Voldemort, as a _gift_, he said, if Draco-"

"I still, I mean, I can't believe this…Draco never said anything to me…" Narcissa interrupted, her china doll face looking as if some artist had drawn the word 'surprise!' over it.

To the redhead standing across from her, her lovely features were painfully reminiscent of Draco's.

"He was trying to protect you, _and_ _me_, as well," Ginny said firmly. "Look, haven't you ever wondered why Draco broke off his engagement with Zaliad Manjaro all of a sudden?"

"For _you?"_ Narcissa asked sharply, once again arching her delicate eyebrows.

"Yeah, for _me_…" Ginny snapped testily, not liking Narcissa's tone of incredulity on this particular point. "Listen, you _have_ to believe me…I don't know what to say to prove it to you, we never had our picture taken together, or exchanged love letters or anything of the sort. It was just too dangerous to have proof lying around…but, you _have_ to believe me… I have to see him, _please…"_

"I'm sorry, but that's impossible," Narcissa said, shaking her fair head slightly.

Her surprised expression had gradually begun to fade, and her perfectly symmetrical face was now set into a cold mask. "I see you've figured out that Draco has a…_memory problem_…" the blonde witch said delicately, raising an eyebrow. "He has not been well, and seeing you the other day upset him very much…"

"It _did?"_ Ginny asked hopefully, her face lighting up. "Then he reacted to me…"

"He had a horrible headache…" Narcissa said dryly, eyeing the girl as if trying to see through her. It was obvious she was struggling with whether or not to believe her.

Turning away, the blonde woman folded her arms over her chest, and began walking towards the wood paned double windows, where light was streaming in. In the sunlight, her long silky hair looked white, just like her son's did.

_What can I do? _Ginny thought desperately, following Narcissa's slim form with her eyes. A moment later she looked away, and hung her head in frustration.

And then, suddenly, it came to her.

She snapped her head up, and began talking quickly, pouring out the precious words Draco had whispered in their secret world, drawing for her a picture of his peculiar childhood, where fear and love were strange -but constant- companions. These words she had kept in her heart during all these years, never telling a soul, until now.

"When he was seven years old, he fell off his broom and twisted his ankle, but he was afraid of Lucius finding out and punishing him for being careless, so he hid it for as long as he could, even from you...When you discovered it, his ankle had swollen to the size of a grapefruit and had three different shades of blue in it."

Narcissa turned around sharply and met Ginny's eyes, seeing a firm resolve in their amber depths.

The younger woman ignored her surprised look, and kept speaking. "You'd sing to him in Italian, to get him to sleep, an old Italian love song called '_Ciao Ciao Bambina_' that your Veela grandmother used to sing to you. It's for a girl, but you changed it to 'bambino', and until a few years ago, he actually believed it was written about him…"

A sad smile lit Ginny's face briefly. Looking away from the black eyes that were set on her intently, the redhead focused instead on a random point in the distance.

She recalled with painful clarity laying against Draco's chest, feeling the vibrations of his voice as he sang softly, his lips pressed against the shell of her ear…

Her eyes filled with tears, but she forced herself to continue. "I can hum the tune," she said softly, her voice breaking, "But I don't know the words…"

Ginny couldn't see the goose bumps that had broken out over the older woman's skin, and continued to speak, more insistently now, unaware of the effect her words were having.

"He wet his bed until he was nine, but you'd hide it from Lucius, you'd wash the sheets yourself, so not even the House Elves would know…you always protected him, however you could…and he knew that."

Narcissa's Stygian eyes had long ago filled with tears as she watched the red-headed girl, who was looking at her fearlessly, her words coated with the undeniable ring of truth.

"One summer, when Draco was twelve, Lucius went away on business, and you cooked a pot of shrimp. You tended the garden together, and the petunias were pink and blue…He says it was his happiest memory until we…well, until…" Ginny flushed furiously. "He has a tiny birthmark shaped like a crescent moon on his right thigh, you see…"

She fell silent, and a moment later the blond woman had crossed the distance between them. Without saying a word, she wrapped her arms tightly around Ginny, taking the girl completely by surprise.

"So _you_ were the reason," Narcissa whispered quietly, through her tears. "The reason why he turned away from the Dark Lord, the reason why he changed…"

Ginny felt the slender woman tremble gently as she wept against her shoulder, and was enveloped by the scent of jasmine.

"God bless, you, child," she said softly, kissing the girl's cheek and then drawing back. "For saving Draco."

Ginny watched Narcissa through wide, unblinking eyes, and a single tear slid down her smooth cheek.

"Please, I know he can't remember me…" she said urgently, wiping the tear away. "You have to help me, _please…"_

"Oh, my dear! Nothing would please me more than to see you and Draco happy together!" Narcissa murmured, her black as coal eyes fixed on Ginny intently. "But we _must_ be careful! You're in love with Draco, it's obvious to me now, but you mustn't let him see that, because at the moment he doesn't feel the same way."

She looked at Ginny sadly for a moment. "You have to understand, darling. The last memory Draco has is of his fifth year at Hogwarts. He's not the same person you knew, and he was taught to despise weakness. If you let him see your love for him, he will despise you for it…if you tell him what you were to him, he wouldn't understand…"

"So, what can I do?" the younger woman asked desperately, clasping Narcissa's perfectly manicured hand in hers.

"We'll have to think of something," Narcissa replied urgently, squeezing her hand softly. "a way to have you near him constantly, maybe then he might-"

She was cut off by the sound of approaching footfalls, and Draco's deep voice calling, "_Mamaaa_… have you seen my-"

Chills broke out over Ginny's body as she saw him enter the room, looking like he'd just stepped out of a catalogue.

She felt her chest tighten, until it was almost impossible to breathe, and her knees wobbled and threatened to give, but she willed herself to be calm, to stand firm against the wave of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her.

Draco was dressed in a pair of black trousers of exquisite cut, and a black cashmere sweater with the sleeves rolled halfway up his beautiful forearms, covering the spot where she knew the Dark Mark that marred his skin would be. His body was still lean, and athletic, but he had gained more muscle mass, and his shoulders had broadened since she'd last seen him, four years ago.

Despite the delicacy of his features, there was a raw sort of power emanating from Draco, and Ginny couldn't help the shivers that went down her spine at being in his presence.

The dark clothes he wore contrasted with his golden-white hair, which was cut in layers and barely reached the tip of his collar. And he was beautiful, as he'd always been, and even more so now, it seemed to her.

Draco had changed, and at the same time, he looked the same. It was the same hauntingly beautiful face, the same steel gray eyes, the same full lips, but there was something different about him. It took Ginny a while to realize that the soft lines of adolescence were gone from his face. His beauty was more defined, more chiseled, and at the same time cold; Draco looked more like a statue than a real person.

Her whole body ached to run to him, to touch him and press her lips to his skin, to make sure he was real. She wished for nothing more than to throw herself at him and hug him, but she realized with a pang that he wouldn't be hugging back…

Draco had broken off what he had been saying when he saw Ginny standing there, with an expression of shock written across her face.

_"You…"_ he said sharply, his perfectly symmetrical face registering surprise for an instant. He looked from her to Narcissa, and then back to her again. "What are you doing here?"

Ginny blushed horribly to the roots of her hair, and opened her mouth to speak, although she had absolutely no idea what to say.

Fortunately, Narcissa chose the moment to jump in. "What do you mean darling? I live here," she said calmly, and smiled charmingly in answer to Draco's raised eyebrow. "As for Ms. Weasley…remember how I said I wanted to get rid of all that stuffy Middle Ages furniture? Well, you're looking at our new interior decorator!"

"Oh?" Draco said, making a point to look around, even inclining his head slightly to glance under a nearby table. "Where?"

"Now, Draco! Ms. Weasley, of course!" his mother said, swatting his arm playfully. "What is it Othello? Please excuse me," she told them, upon hearing she had a call by Floo. Glancing at Ginny discreetly, she walked to the adjoining room.

Draco and Ginny were left alone in silence, with the redhead fidgeting under the blond's piercing gaze.

In the still, dreary beauty of the manor, the figure of the girl -her shocking red hair and colorful presence- disrupted everything, like a sudden, joyful note in a requiem. But looking at her made Draco feel something he didn't understand, a strange sort of apprehension, a weird sadness, although there was barely a sign of the vicious headache he'd had on their first encounter. He looked at her intently, willing her to meet his eyes, but she wouldn't look up at him.

"So," Draco began, folding his arms across his chest with his characteristic grace. His voice and manner gave away nothing. "_You're_ an interior decorator. I thought that implied having _some_ measure of class…you _are_ a Weasley, aren't you?" he finished, eyeing her dubiously.

She wouldn't make eye contact, and he was surprised to note that for one split second her face fell, and she actually looked hurt, odd as it may seem.

Draco felt a twinge of uneasiness. The Weaselette he…well, _sort of_ knew…would have jumped at the chance to banter with him, and for that very same reason he had seldom addressed his attacks directly at her, back at Hogwarts. At any rate, she would have considered this a half-hearted attempt at an insult, at best.

_She looked at me as if I had just kicked a puppy -_Draco thought, taken aback-_ Maybe I should…apologize?…_

He was reassured when a moment later he saw the girl's countenance darken, the shadow gone from her face, so that he thought he'd imagined it altogether.

"That's charming, Malfoy," she said sarcastically, in a pleasant voice that wasn't as soft as he'd expected for such a light frame. "I noticed you waited until your mummy left to deliver that particular jewel."

Draco smirked, relieved. He opened his mouth to reply but Narcissa suddenly reappeared.

"Ah, wonderful! I'm so pleased," she said, smiling at Ginny with genuine warmth.

Draco rolled his eyes around, but said nothing. The two women soon became engrossed in a conversation, and this gave him a chance to take in Ginny freely.

"_She's not even that pretty,"_ he had thought, only two days earlier. He noted now with a self-deprecating smirk just how wrong he had been.

The girl was, simply put, lovely.

She was still entirely too thin for Draco's taste, but standing there, her small hands gesturing delicately as she spoke, with roses for cheeks, and her flaming red hair falling like a halo around her, the girl was blooming like a flower.

He was unmoved by her beauty, however, being used to far more impressive looking witches. Still, it was there, and he had to admit that there was an attractive glow about her, the glow of health and youth that had been entirely lacking in her that day at Flourish and Blotts, when her bone-white pallor had given the impression of sickliness.

And there was something, something about her that drew him.

_Maybe it's because she's trying so hard to ignore me,_ Draco thought, amused.

"Come, Ms. Weasley, let's take a tour of the mansion so you can see what you're up against," Narcissa was saying pleasantly.

Draco scoffed. "Mother, shouldn't you leave off the tour for when she's contractually bound to return? Anyone would have to be crazy to take on…this." He gestured their surroundings vaguely, then turned to look at Ginny with disdain. "Although _you_ certainly seem more than qualified in that respect…"

"Really! Draco!" Narcissa said, glancing at Ginny apologetically, but her smile was amused. She obviously felt this was going well.

"That's ok, Mrs. Malfoy. After several years of putting up with his beastly onslaught of 'wit' back at school-" and here she actually crinkled her fingers to draw up quotation marks around the word "-I'm more or less immune to your son's special brand of charm."

Narcissa laughed merrily. "So I see! Well, dear, if you're going to be working with us you might as well call me Narcissa."

Ginny blushed with actual pleasure, and opened her mouth to reply, but Draco cut in.

"And you may call _me_ 'master'," he said in haughty tones, but smiled wickedly when Narcissa protested. "Oh alright, mother," he said, good-naturedly. "She may call me…'_Mr. Malfoy_'."

Ginny pretended to ignore him and turned to Narcissa. "Please, call me Ginny."

"She also responds to 'The-Girl-Who-Lived-To-Love-Harry Potter' or any whimsical variations of the name," Draco drawled, willing her to look at him. "I myself prefer Weasel Junior…And speaking of which, how is that darling brother of yours?"

"Which one?" Ginny returned wryly, and he was pleased when she met his eye, but then only for a moment, as if she were afraid to.

"Oh _that's_ right! There's _fifteen_ of them!" Draco returned sarcastically, "Well, I meant the one with the ridiculous red-"

"Master Draco," Othello interrupted swiftly, "Ms. Katerina Lee awaits you on the Floo line."

"Oh. Yes of course," Draco said, sobering instantly. It was only then he realized how'd loose he'd been, how utterly devoid of tension he'd felt a second before, despite how intriguing the girl was to him.

"Well, rejoice, wenches!" he said, smirking. "I'll be leaving you to intrigue and cackle at your leisure."

He kissed Narcissa's temple softly, and gave Ginny an almost imperceptible nod, before turning away. Both women watched him run a hand through his silvery blond hair casually as he sauntered to the adjacent room.

Once he was gone, Ginny collapsed back into her chair. She covered her face with her trembling hands, and it took a moment for Narcissa to realize she was crying.

"Oh Ginny!" she said, patting the red-headed girl gingerly, in the manner of one who comforts a scared puppy.

"He hates me!" Ginny wailed.

"Nonsense dear!" the older woman said, laughing gaily. "He most certainly does _not_ hate you. Quite the contrary, I can see that he enjoyed talking to you."

_"Really?"_ Ginny said, lifting her tear-stricken face up to look at Draco's mother.

"Of course! Didn't you see the way he was babbling? It was like Aunt Constance at the punch table during family gatherings. He hadn't spoken so much since…well, since he woke up from the coma."

A brief shadow passed over Narcissa's perfect face, and Ginny realized she was remembering something painful_. _

_It must have been terrible,_ she thought, observing the beautiful witch wistfully, _sitting by his bedside, wondering if he would ever wake up._

But just as suddenly, Narcissa Malfoy seemed to cheer up. Ginny observed her with surprise, feeling that perhaps the brief grief on the beautiful face was the only sincere emotion Narcissa had displayed.

"And he stayed through our boring girly conversation! It really seemed like he was going out of his way to insult you, dear! I hadn't seen him pay anyone this much attention in a while. Oh Ginny, I can see it perfectly!" Narcissa was rambling merrily.

After years of living in misery and fear, her moods seemed now invariably jovial, as if she'd forbidden herself to be sad again. But the fact remained that the liquid pain she had carried inside of her for so long was now a permanent part of her. Sometimes it flashed in her dark eyes, in spite of her best efforts, making Narcissa's happy face often seem like a mask of living flesh.

The effect made Ginny uncomfortable, despite the sincerity of the older witch's words. Still, she made an effort to brush the feeling away, and concentrate on what Draco's mother was saying.

"You're so sweet! And you're strong, and brave," Narcissa continued warmly, "Draco had no choice but to fall in love with you, my dear! I think we can make it happen again. Already he looks quite smitten…"

Ginny looked at her incredulously.

Perhaps insulting their love interest was some ancient form of Malfoy courting…In the space of ten minutes, Draco had called her crazy looking, tacky, and had managed to insult her entire family more than three times. Then again…Draco had been rough around the edges that first night in the Astronomy Tower. He had called her pathetic and bratty before kissing her, but later had confessed that he already had a crush on her at the time.

"If it hadn't been for that blasted Katerina Lee's interrupting…" Narcissa was saying, her brow gathering in annoyance.

Ginny had been lost in thought, and her face, still flushed from the rush of emotions at having Draco so close to her, had a faint smile of remembrance. At the mention of the mysterious woman, she quickly snapped out of her reverie.

"Who is Katerina Lee?"

"Oh, no one," Narcissa said, waving her hand dismissively. "Just the woman he's dating."

Ginny jumped to her feet "WHAT?" she demanded, "Draco's _dating_ someone? But he was in a _coma!_ _How ever did he find the time?_ Unless…" Suddenly it dawned on her that maybe this Katerina Lee had been around even before he'd lost his memory. "How long has this been going on?" she cried in horror.

"Calm down, dear!" Narcissa said hastily, "That Lee woman is just some Italian bimbo he picked up at the hospital in Florence. You know Draco…it's the Veela blood…anyway, it's nothing important. She's part Asian, and very exotic looking. Alas, she's a stupid twit, and Draco _detests_ stupidity." Narcissa displayed the same wicked smile that had been on her son's face a moment before. "He'll tire of her soon enough…"

Ginny looked at her beautiful face, desperately wanting to be reassured by the woman's aloofness on the subject of Katerina Lee, but she felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach, and all the wind had been knocked out of her. Her composure was quickly slipping away, and she feared she might fall apart at any moment.

"I have to go, Mrs. Malfoy," she said mechanically, grabbing for her purse.

"Oh darling, don't be upset! Come back tomorrow!" Narcissa called after her, as she Flooed away. "And I told you to call me Narcissa!"

**X**

Ginny Flooed home, and dropped her purse on the mauve sofa, pausing to remove her three-inch spike heels. After walking around in them all day her feet were screaming bloody murder.

The shoes clattered loudly against the floor when she dropped them, and she stood barefoot and covered with soot, not quite knowing what to do with herself.

She was tired, so very tired, as if she'd run a great distance.

She had seen Draco, and had spoken to him, after all this time of dreaming about it. But it had been a horrible, bitter-sweet experience, with emphasis on bitter...

Remembering how desperately hopeful she had been when Narcissa said, "_I think he enjoyed talking to you_", Ginny burst into tears, covering her face with her hands.

Suddenly she felt a great sadness, a deep wound in her heart.

After being so close to him, to have Draco look at her with polite curiosity was like having a dagger driven into her heart. Being so hopelessly in love with him, and having to hide it, seeing no love in the stormy gray eyes she knew so well…This was torture!

Ginny collapsed on her sofa, crying softly, drawing her knees up and hugging them to her body.

At some point she her eyes flipped open during the night, and she realized only then she had fallen asleep.

She had slept soundly, and in her dreams, they were together again.

Closing her eyes, she realized this dream was an actual memory, a precious memory of a moment lived in what seemed like a lifetime ago.

_The feel of mouth on mouth, the ancient stone against her back as Draco pressed her into the wall. The rush of raw emotion, the uneven rise and fall of her breasts, the flutter of her heartbeat against his. The intense gray of his mercury eyes, so like quicksilver, dark with desire, and love._

_This is where you first kissed me, she thought, winding her fingers through the silk of his hair._

_"Do... you remember..." she said softly against his lips "…the first time?" _

_She could feel him smile through his kisses, his hot tongue thrusting into her mouth, dancing around hers. _

_And then his lips were on her ear whispering, "How could I forget, love?"_

Ginny sat up in the couch, suddenly cold in the chill of the night air.

_But you _did _forget. How could you? _

_What have they done to you, Draco?_

She held her head in her hands desolately, crying softly.

At some point Ginny decided to try to sleep again. Her mind, and her heart, needed some relief.

Peeling the clothes off her tired body, she walked to her room and crawled under the covers of her lonely bed. She rested her head against the pillow, closed her eyes, and willed herself to dream again, to dream of him.

_I wish I could dream reality…_she thought desperately,_ That this was all just some nightmare, and my dreams were what was real!_

**X**

The next morning Ginny woke up with her resolve strengthened.

There was simply no way she was going to give up Draco. No matter how hard or how painful her current situation might be, nothing could be worse than living without him. Nothing.

She knew there was a chance, a big chance, that she might fail, that Draco might not get his memory back, and might not want to be with her. But, by Merlin, she was going to try, even if it killed her.

"Mione," she said, speaking to her friend through her Floo connection. "I checked at your house, and Ron said you'd be here."

"Hey Gin!" Hermione said, with surprise, and genuine pleasure.

She had been obviously in the middle of getting ready to go down to breakfast at the Great Hall, and had not yet donned on her teaching robes.

"Yeah, I had work to catch up on," Hermione said, knotting a peach colored lace tie at her neck. "Besides, it will serve your brother to spend a night without me, once in a while." Although Hermione taught at Hogwarts, she usually commuted from her home in the London suburbs, every day.

"Listen," Ginny said, her tone serious, "I know you're busy, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Sure," Hermione said, pausing to look at her friend inquisitively. "Anything."

"Hermione, can you promise me that you'll do everything in your power to find out how Draco's memory curse works, and how to counter it?"

Hermione looked at Ginny straight in the eye before replying, shaking her head softly. "Oh,Ginny. I already am…"

The redheaded girl's anxious face broke into a smile. "I knew I could count on you, Mione."

"Dummy," the brunette said, smiling.

Ginny stuck her tongue out in reply. "I'm going to let you go back to getting ready, but I want to ask you one more thing…Do you have any books on interior decorating?"

**X**


	4. What's In a Name or The Sex Doll

**A/N:** I would like to thank Grace (**mmoxxie**) my fantastic beta-reader for her work on this fic. Also thanks to all who have reviewed!

* * *

**The World Inverted**

**Chapter Four: "What's In a Name?" **or** "The Sex Doll"**

"_Your name is a golden bell hung in my heart. _

_I would break my body to pieces to call you once, by your name."_

--Cyrano DeBergerac

**X**

_Went to the porch to have a thought.  
Got to the door and again, I couldn't stop._

_The moths beat themselves to death against the lights.  
Adding their breeze to the summer nights.  
Outside, water like air was great.  
I didn't know what I had that day.  
Walk a little farther to another plan.  
You said that you did, but you didn't understand. _

_I know that starting over is not what life's about.  
But my thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth.  
My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth.  
My thoughts were so loud._

--"The World At Large", by Modest Mouse

**X**

Draco Malfoy stretched leisurely in his massive canopy bed, and kicked his black silk sheets away from his body. Yawning, he ran a hand through his hair, and was momentarily surprised at how short it was.

And then it all came back to him.

He wasn't sixteen anymore, his hair wasn't long, and he wasn't at Hogwarts: he was twenty-one, his hair was short, and he was a fucking hero…

Oh yeah, and he had a 'memory problem', as his mother had taken to calling it.

Shaking his head, he padded barefoot to Narcissa's quarters, at the far end of the North Wing.

She was not there, however, and when he questioned Tabby, one of the House Elves, he was told she was at her study, waiting for the interior decorator to arrive.

Draco mulled this over, and walked back to his room.

So Ginny Weasley was coming back. The brief flutter of something he'd felt at this news caught him by surprise.

Brushing his teeth thoughtfully, he inspected himself in the mirror. His silvery blond hair was mussed in a very becoming way, and he decided not to bother with it.

He noted with some displeasure that he didn't have any stubble, and wondered if he would ever be able to grow a beard, or a mustache. Then he wondered why he'd want one. The he decided it sucked to not have it as an option, either way.

Draco was dressed in nothing but his blue checkered pajama bottoms, so he slipped a long black bathrobe over it, and decided to drop in on Narcissa.

Checking the old grandfather clock in the hallway, he discovered it was four PM. Draco had gotten home at seven in the morning, crawled into bed, hung-over and tired, and had had fallen into a deep sleep until a few moments ago.

When he arrived at his mother's study, he found 'the interior decorator', Ginny, already sitting there, with her back to him. He stopped to observe her for a moment, her beautiful red hair tumbling down her back in shiny waves, like a living thing, completely independent from her.

It was much shorter than he remembered seeing it at Hogwarts: back then it had fallen down to her waist, whereas now it ended halfway down her back, with the tips curling slightly. Again he found himself experiencing that weird vulnerability, and the beginnings of a headache, he tended to feel in her presence, but he brushed it to the back of his mind.

"Darling!" his mother exclaimed when she saw him standing there, with his arms folded, and his right shoulder leaning against the door frame.

"Mother," he said, ignoring Ginny altogether.

She had turned to look at him, and he pretended not to notice. He knew he looked good, bathrobe and all.

"Othello, some coffee for Draco, please."

Draco accepted the cup and saucer that floated in mid-air before him, and took a tentative sip, to humor his mother, but he didn't feel like having it. After a moment he set the coffee down on the table, near Ginny.

"Draco, do give Ginevra a tour of the grounds," Narcissa said cheerfully. "She's seen most of the mansion already, but we never got the chance to see the fields and gardens."

"And this means what to me?" Draco said testily, turning his gray eyes to Narcissa.

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, through narrowed eyes. Narcissa looked at her son calculatingly, and then pouted feebly, breaking the silence by complaining of aching feet. When she flew at him and covered him with kisses, saying endearing phrases in rapid Italian, Draco relented, and agreed to help.

"You're spoiled, you know that?" he called out to Narcissa as he left her study, not bothering to glance at Ginny to see if she was following.

"Looks like you've won her over," he commented after a while, his tone neutral.

"Yeah, mums tend to like me," Ginny conceded, in the same tone.

She looked at Draco out of the corner of her eye, and her breath caught in her throat.

His fair hair fell in elegant disarray around his exquisite face, which was devoid of any particular expression. He looked impossibly regal in his black bathrobe, with his hands casually in his pockets and his feet bear along the stone pathway. She loved to see him barefoot, always had.

"Do you think she's trying to play matchmaker?" Draco asked casually, watching for her reaction. "I'm seeing someone, you know. Mum hates her, too."

"Katerina Lee, I've heard all about her," Ginny said quietly.

They had reached the main garden, and Ginny's heart lay bleeding in her chest, at his aloofness, at his words and what he'd implied. And because he hadn't looked at her, not once.

"So Weasley," Draco said suddenly, all pretense of indifference gone as his intense stormy grey eyes focused on her fully, daring her to meet his eye.

Ginny withstood the intensity of his eyes, reminding herself that this was Draco, who loved her. He just didn't remember it yet…

He, in turn, was pleased to see Ginny held his gaze. He also noticed her eyes were beautiful, of the lightest brown, like honey, or amber. She was looking at him expectantly, her cheeks colored a rosy pink.

"Why did you look at me the way you looked at me, when you saw me at Flourish and Blotts?" There it was.

The question that had been tormenting Draco during the past days, making him think about her constantly, near obsessively.

He did not understand why he needed to know, but he found himself leaning forward, as he waited for her answer. Ginny did not look surprised, but seemed uncomfortable with what she had to say.

"Well, Malfoy…" she began slowly, taking a deep breath. Just standing next to him, and not touching him, and referring to him by his last name was hard, let alone _lie _to him. "It's just that the year you left Hogwarts…well..."

"Yes?" Draco drawled, raising an eyebrow and sounding bored; in reality he was burning with impatience.

"Well, we were friends…" she answered in a small voice.

"Who?"

"You…y-you and me."

"What?" he said blandly, raising an eyebrow. "You and _I_, friends?"

"Well…yeah."

"_Really_?" he said, looking dubious. "And how, pray tell, did that come about?"

"Well…we were both in the Astronomy Tower one night-"

"Snogging?" Draco wanted to know.

"What?" Ginny said sharply. "No! No, not _snogging_, Malfoy! We weren't even there together. We just happened to be there at the same time, and we were discovered by Mrs. Norris-"

"That sick bastard Filch…" Draco spat, with feeling.

He had an old feud with the caretaker, something to do with the old Hogwarts employee wanting desperately to get into Draco's pants, and making the then Slytherin fully aware of it. Ginny had always found this amusing.

"Yes. Anyway, we escaped together…and after that, we got to talking." She was surprised at how easily this twisted truth was coming out, and she knew it was coming out convincingly. "After that, we sort of became friends."

Draco was looking at her thoughtfully now, his grey eyes dancing with curiosity.

"Is that Weasley lingo for_ 'and we shagged'_?" he asked finally.

"We did not _shag__!" _Ginny said, succeeding at sounding indignant, but blushing like mad. "It wasn't like that, Malfoy! It wasn't like that at all."

"Then what _was_ it like?" Draco inquired, raising an eyebrow. He had not turned his pewter colored eyes from her, not for one moment.

"Well, it was _secret_, that's what it was. Imagine everyone's shock if they'd known. A Weasley and a Malfoy…"

"Yes," Draco said thoughtfully. Then after a moment, "So we didn't shag?"

"There was no shagging, Malfoy! You were dating Zaliad Manjaro, and I….I was…in love with someone."

Draco processed this in silence.

"Then what did we do, Weasley? Braid each other's hair, and do our nails?" He was leaning closer into her, as they walked, his voice growing lower and lower.

"N-no," she said, blanching at his proximity –his particular scent, like vanilla and parchment, was invading her senses- "We talked. And we…we exchanged Muggle books…"

Draco's eyebrows shot up at this, and he inspected her face carefully.

"Oh," was all he said.

"I never told anyone," Ginny said quickly. "I never…"

But Draco had already turned away, allowing her space once again. "So did I wear protective goggles to shield my retinas from your brightly colored hair?"

Ginny looked up at him, and smiled, relieved. "Sometimes."

"And that's why you looked at me like that?" he asked again, turning to look at her sharply. "Because we were friends? Or so you claim, anyway…Did we see each other after Hogwarts?"

"Never," she answered gravely, hoping he didn't catch the emotion behind her voice.

_Never, in four long years._

"At the bookstore…I was just…" her voice cracked, despite her best efforts. "I was glad you were ok."

"Look, Weasley," Draco said sharply, turning to look at her straight in the eye. "I don't remember anything, as you well know, and I'm not that guy you're talking about, that guy you became friends with. I don't even know _who_ I am anymore. So don't expect anything from me, you hear?"

"No, I don't expect anything," she said quickly, her lovely voice trembling softly.

Draco looked at her carefully again, deciding.

"Look, this is just a big break for me. It's a job," Ginny hastened to add. "Your mum's paying me a lot of money and you know…you know my family's not very wealthy."

Draco continued to look at her, and she squirmed under his unnerving gaze. "I know," he said finally.

He found himself believing what Ginny had told him. No one -NO ONE- knew that he had a collection of Muggle books, save for Narcissa, and himself.

If he and Ginny had exchanged Muggle books, then they must have been at least friends. The thought fazed him only briefly. Merlin knew he had heard his fair share of shocking facts about himself, since he'd woken for the coma. This one didn't even rank in the top three.

"_You killed Lucius Malfoy. You were Voldemort's top man, but in reality you were a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix. You're a hero…"_

If he had killed his father, he might as well have been in a book club with a Weasley.

Draco stopped walking and she did too. They stood in Narcissa's garden, and Ginny got her first glimpse at the famed petunias Draco had told her about. They were beautiful…

"You know what?" Ginny said, looking away quickly, as if the sight burned her eyes. "I need to see this pond you and your mum keep talking about."

"Ah, yes," Draco said. "Mum wants something or other done with it. Come."

They walked mostly in silence, save for when he summoned a pair of slippers so as to not hurt his feet on the dirt path. Ginny followed him through a winding path, watching his stern countenance covertly. For some reason, she was strongly reminded of the first time she had ever seen Draco Malfoy smile, long before their story together began.

She had been just another third year, walking by the Quidditch pitch with a group of girls her age on a sunny afternoon, and happened to glance towards the field. The Slytherin Quidditch team had practice and Draco, who had been flying spectacularly, had just caught the Snitch.

He touched down on the earth, his face flushed by pleasure, and the rush of flying at a high speed, the sun glinting white in his long fair hair. His left hand was closed around the still fluttering Snitch, and a smile, a real smile, lit his perfectly symmetrical face as his eyebrows knit together against the powerful rays of the sun. He hadn't even seen Ginny, and he certainly wouldn't have smiled unguardedly if he had, but Ginny, feeling a warm twinge of something, had tripped on her own feet, awed and oddly saddened by how beautiful he was.

_Maybe I always knew I would end up falling in love with him_, she thought, as she observed him now.

Draco stopped walking, and Ginny realized they had arrived at the "pond''. Her jaw dropped when she saw it, for it was, in actuality, a lake.

"This is your _pond_?" she looked at Draco incredulously. "Malfoy, this is a freaking lake! It's _huge!"_ Ginny exclaimed, amazed as she realized the sheer size of the Malfoy estate.

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. It sounds kind of pretentious, doesn't it? 'The Malfoy Lake'?"

Ginny gawked. Since when was Draco Malfoy worried about appearing pretentious? Would wonders never cease?

Draco took in her look, and bristled. "Whatever, call it whatever you want," he snapped, rolling his eyes. "It's your _lake_. Happy?"

"_Thrilled_. And I've never been given a lake before. That's certainly the most unpretentious gift anyone's ever made me," Ginny retorted sarcastically.

Draco folded his arms across his chest, and looked at her in silence.

Again her heart fluttered at seeing him, and she wanted nothing more than to touch him, kiss him, tell him just how much she'd missed him.

"What?" she said finally.

"Your hair. It's shorter."

Ginny's eyes widened, and she looked away quickly. He had noticed her, he remembered her hair…

"Yeah…well, your hair's much shorter, too," she said. The last time she had seen him, his hair had come down to his shoulder blades, framing his lovely face, though he seldom wore it loose.

"Yeah," Draco said, running a hand through the silky strands self-consciously.

Ginny wanted so badly to touch it, her fingers actually twitched, but she didn't move.

"I've never had it this short, that I know of." He winced.

Damned _memory problem_.

"I don't even know when I cut it." He paused thoughtfully. "I like it like this, though."

Ginny said nothing, realizing that he was talking more to himself than to her, but she liked it too. She liked everything on him.

With a graceful motion, he sat on a patch of grass by the edge of the "pond'', and Ginny followed suit. There were no trees nearby to give them shade, so they sat in the sun in amenable silence.

It surprised Ginny to see how comfortable Draco seemed to be in her presence, and how he seemed to have accepted the fact that they had been somehow involved back in Hogwarts without much of a fight. But then again, Draco wasn't the kind of person to be easily ruffled by what was going on around him.

"Do you remember when I had my hair so long, it came down to my waist?" Draco said after a while, sounding self-deprecating. A melancholic sort of mood seemed to have come over him, and he seemed to want to talk to someone. Anyone.

"Yeah," Ginny said, looking amused.

Ron would always mock Draco for it, and it was just too much, really. His face was just too beautiful, and with those silvery, flowing locks falling down his back, he looked like an angel, or a girl.

"Do you know why I let it grow so long?" he inquired, squinting at her in the sun. "It was my father, Lucius. He wouldn't let me cut it until I turned fourteen."

Ginny frowned at the mention of Lucius, but said nothing.

"It was some sort of promise, to increase magical skill, some weird thing like that. I got my first haircut at fourteen, and it was Lucius himself that cut it, to the same length he had. I wonder what he did with all that hair."

She made a face.

"Yeah, weird," Draco said. "I think he wanted a girl…"

Ginny looked at him incredulously, and suddenly burst out laughing. Draco looked at her, enjoying her mirth, and after a moment started laughing too, only it was more of a snigger.

"Draco, Dracaena." He scoffed. "Dracaena Malfoy. If I ever go into the drag queen business, I have a name ready."

Ginny laughed harder at the thought that Draco Malfoy was considering this a career option, and shook her head. "No, no, that wouldn't be your name! It's supposed to be your middle name, and the name of your street!"

Draco quirked an eyebrow, and laughed, too. "What?"

"This is Tippington Main, right?" Ginny continued, "So your drag queen name is Stefano Tippington! Or wait, was that the stripper name? Now I'm confused."

Her smile faltered when his eyes hardened.

"How do you know that?" he demanded accusingly. "How do you know my middle name, Weasley?"

"Well, you told me…"

"I told you? _I _told _you _my middle name." He looked angry and incredulous, and a moment later was on his feet, glaring down at her.

"Yes, well, I told you mine…" she said feebly, looking up at him through startled brown eyes.

"Do you have any idea how much power there is in a name?" Draco snapped angrily. "That's very powerful magic. You can do all sorts of things with a person's full name, it gives you power over them. Did I tell you-"

"Christian. Yes, all three of them," she said slowly.

"Lucius would have killed me if he'd known a _Weasley_ was walking around with my names, and that I'd given them to her," Draco continued heatedly, and Ginny realize his anger was directed partly at her for knowing more about himself than he did right now, and also at himself, for not remembering these things.

It was obvious he was suffering, and her heart went out to him. She wanted badly to throw her arms around him, but remained rooted to her spot.

"Well, we trusted each other," she said softly after a moment. "It's no big deal..." Ginny was deliberately calm and matter-of-fact, and it seemed to work.

A moment later Draco's explosion of anger had passed.

He remained standing, with his arms folded across his chest, and silence fell over them again for a few minutes.

"Did I always call you Weasley, and you called me Malfoy?" he wanted to know, no longer looking at her.

"Yes."

"Oh."

"What?" she said, looking up at him, but he was looking at the gleaming surface of the lake.

"Well, if you'd said different, I'd known you were lying about us not having sex."

Ginny laughed. "Why?"

"Because," Draco said, still not looking at her. "If you'd fucked me you wouldn't go around calling me Malfoy."

Ginny's smile faded, and she shivered, sitting as she was in the warm sunlight. Draco seemed to be ignoring her.

"If you'd fucked me," he said quietly, more to himself than to her, "You would say my name, in praise and worship." He sounded amused, but there was something about his tone, about how softly he was speaking, that kept her from laughing. "You'd say my name, like a prayer…"

Draco turned his head very slowly, and looked at her, his face slightly tilted to the side. His intense eyes seemed to be weighing her.

"Like that day at Flourish and Blotts," he finished softly.

Ginny's stomach did a back-flip, and dropped to her feet, but she said nothing.

"You said my name as if your life depended on it," Draco said quietly, his pewter colored eyes piercing her. "Did you think I wouldn't notice? Did you really?"

Ginny opened her mouth to speak, and blushed furiously.

A second later she had jumped to her feet. "I'm tired of your stupid mind games, Malfoy!" she said loudly, glaring up at him. "Fine! You want to know why I said your name? I'll tell you: I was drunk!"

"_What_?" Draco said, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, I was _drunk!_ And then I fainted. Or did you think that was because of you, too?" Ginny said accusingly, and there was real anger in her voice. "I was overcome by emotion at seeing you," she continued, her eyes blazing, "And then I_ fainted_? Is that it, Malfoy?"

"Why were drunk at five in the afternoon?" the angrier she became, the more calm he seemed by comparison.

"That's none of your damned business," she snapped. "I'm so tired of this crap. You've really got some nerve. Just because _you_ were the biggest slut in Hogwarts doesn't mean you got into _everyone's_ pants." Here she made an all encompassing gesture with her hands that Draco found amusing, but his smirk vanished at her following words.

"I would have never slept with you, never, never, _never_!" she said vehemently, her small hands balling into angry fists. "I was in love with someone, do you understand? And you and I, we were just friends. Get over yourself!"

With that, Ginny stomp off through the path back to mansion.

Draco observed the way her long red hair swished angrily behind her, and then looked away towards the lake, putting a hand on his slender hip.

"Ginny's lake," he said out loud, to no one in particular.

**X**

Two weeks later "Ginny's Lake" had a row of weeping willows planted around it, and a fleet of magically powered miniature sailing boats navigated its sparkling water lazily.

Most of the rooms on the main floor of the manor were done. Ginny had chosen several color pallets for each room, and had presented them to Narcissa, and together they had decided what suited each room best. Later they ordered furniture, sometimes by catalogue, sometimes directly at the stores.

Draco was often around, and sometimes Ginny could feel his eyes on her, but using every ounce of willpower she possessed, she would pretend not to notice. Then he would do something to get her to look at him, and Narcissa would disappear conveniently, leaving them to talk in privacy.

Ginny had gotten better at hiding her emotions from Draco, to the point where most of the time she succeeded in masking his effect on her, and making him believe she was indifferent. This seemed to catch Draco's attention more than anything, annoying and intriguing him in equal measure.

After that first tense conversation by the lake Draco had dropped the subject of their former friendship entirely. He didn't question that they'd been friends, because he felt comfortable around her, and because of what he saw in her eyes. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was there.

"This place is coming along nicely," he said one day, in a non committal tone.

Ginny was sitting at a table in the West Wing's anteroom, which had been painted a very earthy brown, giving the space a warmth it had never had before.

"Although," Draco added thoughtfully, "It would have been impossible to make it look any worse. Lucius wasn't a very creative person."

"Thanks, I guess," Ginny said, not looking up from the catalogue she was perusing, but all of her attention was on him.

"You work at the Ministry," Draco stated, and was pleased when that seemed to catch her attention. "I was there yesterday."

"Did you see me?" she inquired, lifting her beautiful amber eyes up to his.

"Yes," he admitted, with a shrug, not bothering to explain why he didn't greet her. "You know who else I saw? Potter."

"Oh," Ginny said.

Draco seemed to be waiting for something, but she pretended to ignore him, not looking up from her catalogue.

"So what about you and Potter then?" he asked finally.

"The hero who conquered the Dark Lord?" Ginny said sourly, in reference to an anonymous poem she had once written Harry, and that Draco had made sure everyone read.

"No, the Harry Potter who knits me wool sweaters," Draco said sarcastically. "Yeah, the hero. Who else? I thought you'd have married him by now, and would have a brood of messy haired, scarred children with a short temper, and a tendency to annoy everyone."

Ginny scoffed at the imagery. "I very much doubt Harry's children will have his scar, Malfoy," she said bitingly.

Draco shrugged elegantly. "They'll have his DNA. As far as I'm concerned, that's bad enough."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "And anyway, he married Luna."

"_Loony Lovegood_?" Draco said incredulously.

Ginny shot him a dark look.

"Bummer. So you never got to fulfill your life long dream?"

"It wasn't my _lifelong_ dream! I was eleven when I had a crush on him. I've gotten over him. Can't _you?"_ she retorted.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, you know."

"I can't believe you just said that," Ginny said, smirking. "Anyway," she added, "I was dating someone else."

"Ah," Draco said, with amusement. "The mystery man."

Ginny's smirk broadened into a grin, which slowly faded. "So what about Katerina Lee?" she asked after a moment, trying to keep her tone light, and politely curious.

"Oh, you know," Draco said, sounding weary. "The usual. We slept together, and now she fancies herself to be the next mistress of Malfoy Manor."

Ginny flinched. The thought of Draco sleeping with someone else was too painful to ponder at the moment, and she quickly brushed it away.

"What?" he demanded, misinterpreting her gesture. "It's not like I do anything to encourage her."

"But you don't _discourage_ it either," Ginny retorted, jumping to her feet.

Draco's pale eyes lingered briefly down her body, approving.

She wore a pair of brown knee-high boots under a brown tweed skirt that came halfway down her legs. The earthy colors suited her well.

"You think I'm leading her on?" he challenged. "Well I'm not. It's just sex."

Ginny bit her lip, trying to keep her face from scrunching up in pain.

"What?" Draco said, his voice flat. "I suppose you're one of those girls who call fucking 'making love'."

"How can you do that?" she demanded, as she strode to him angrily. "How can you separate sex from love so easily?"

Draco snorted. "How can you put them together? What does sex have to do with feelings?"

Ginny stared at him, memories of whispered words flooding her like a wave.

"_Ginny, I can die right now. There's never going to be more than this... I couldn't love you more….It's impossible…" _

_He was resting his forehead against her shoulder, his hands were on her bare hips, steadying her, or maybe himself. _

_She had turned her face, flushed by exertion and arousal, around to look at him, alarmed by the note she heard in his voice. What she saw in his stormy grey eyes had brought her to tears._

"You think this Italian chick loves me?" Draco was saying now, oblivious to the look in her eyes. "Well she doesn't, I assure you. But she loves to _fuck_ me."

He was walking towards her now, focusing his mercury eyes on her fully. "She treats me like I'm a doll. Some sort of _sex_ doll." He sounded amused, but his voice had dropped an octave as he stared at her intently, completely invading her personal space. "And do I feel used? No."

Ginny was still shorter than he was, despite her heels, and was looking up at him with an expression he couldn't define.

Draco looked down at her thoughtfully. He was leaning into her, and they were so close that if she let out the breath she was holding they would be touching. His heart rate accelerated, and he felt himself tingle with something he didn't understand, but he hid this from her carefully.

"You know, Weasley," Draco said softly, looking from her eyes to her full, rosy lips, "You should try it."

His hands were now on her waist, and then one went up to her face, brushing her cheek lightly, causing a thrill to ripple through her entire body.

Ginny's amber eyes were wide and unblinking as she looked up at him, her heart galloping loudly in her chest, and her body taut, like a violin string wound too tight.

It was the first time Draco had touched her in four years.

She was perfectly still as his fingers touched her face, and trailed the line of her jaw, down her neck, and to her shoulder.

Draco noted that the old beast, desire, was coiling around his belly, and somehow wasn't surprised.

"It might be _fun_," he whispered, drawing out the word, his finger now trailing her collar bone. His pale gray eyes were looking at her intensely, but there was nothing there, nothing more.

Ginny trembled softly and looked up at him, and before she knew it, her hand was on his chest, pushing him away.

He looked at her in surprise for a moment, and then scoffed as he drew away gracefully, but remained closer than was normal or socially acceptable.

"You Gryffindors are so prudish," he said accusingly. But then his voice changed, drawling his words in a certain way that made her skin burn like it was on fire. "Don't tell me you never wanted this…"

He was looking at her curiously, and her hand was still on his chest. "If we didn't fuck then, Weasley," he nearly growled, his hands on her waist again, and this time he drew her towards him gruffly. "It's because we were kids. But we aren't, anymore."

"No," Ginny said, finding her voice. "That's not why…it was because it just wasn't like that."

Their lower bodies were pressed together now, sending shock waves through her. Draco's face was close to hers, so close she could feel the warmth of his skin against hers, as he leaned in, his face angled towards hers.

Draco's lips were almost brushing hers, his sweet warm breath tickling her face. Ginny's hand, still pressed against his chest, felt the steady beating of his heart underneath the cloth of his shirt. It was obvious he wanted to kiss her, but he seemed to be waiting.

She knew him, Draco would never have kissed her without her asking for it in some way. It was the same way, the first time, so many years ago...

Ginny wanted so badly to feel his lips on hers, to kiss him back, but this felt wrong. This kiss would be for all the wrong reasons.

Shaking her head, she turned her face away from his, and Draco laughed mirthlessly. "So you mean to tell me that you never wanted me? That you were more or less on intimate terms with me, and _you didn't want me?_"

Ginny faltered, and tried to look away, but not before he read desire, and longing, in her eyes.

"Don't bother," Draco said haughtily, his beautiful features twisting with contempt. "I don't believe you. And I don't think I would have been content with just being in Oprah's book club with you, if that's what you want me to believe. Muggle books indeed."

His hands dropped from her waist, and he stepped back, his chin slightly raised, his eyes beholding her levelly. He was so fucking beautiful, and such a jerk!

"Why?" Ginny asked suddenly, her heart racing. "Why wouldn't you be content?" she countered.

"Because," Draco said softly, his pewter colored eyes appraising, "You look like you're tasty."

Ginny shivered in spite of herself.

Draco walked away from her, knowing her eyes were pinned to his back. "Magically delicious, I would venture," he added, grinning.

"I'm flattered you think so, but you never got the chance to know," she said, with a firmness that surprised her. "For the last time, Malfoy, we did not have sex."

"Because you were in love with someone," he recited, sounding bored. But then he turned to her, his stunning eyes piercing her mercilessly. "Maybe we didn't have sex, but you wanted it. And you want it now. Are you in love now, too?"

"Yes," Ginny said simply, walking past him towards the door, "I am."

And she was gone, leaving Draco to look after her, again.

**X**

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed! Please tell me what you think of this! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. AND REMEMBER: REVIEWS MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. : )**

I know this chapter is mostly about conversations between Draco and Ginny, and not much action goes on…remember, patience is a virtue… :P

The next chapter is by far my favorite- you'll see why.

Just a reminder: this fic is a sequel to _GtDS_, where Draco is half Italian (Narcissa _Menicucci_, because in 2003 we didn't know she was a Black yet, so I invented her Italian Veela background.)

Draco is a total jerk right now, but you'll love him again soon, I promise!


	5. The Russian Period or Sexiest Young Heir

**Disclaimer: **_The Brothers Karamazov_, by Doestoevsky, does not belong to me. Neither does the heartbreakingly beautiful song _"Asleep"_, by The Smiths…_"Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"_: reviews! ;P

All songs in this chapter are dedicated to** Ashley**! : ) Thanks to all who reviewed!!

* * *

**The World Inverted**

**Chapter Five: "The Russian Period" **or** "The Sexiest Young Heir"**

_Love hurts,  
but sometimes it's a good hurt  
and it feels like I'm alive._

_Love sings,  
when it transcends the bad things  
have a heart and try me  
'cause without love I won't survive…_

-- Incubus

**X**

Ginny Weasley entered her office tiredly.

She had barely slept at all last night, but then, she hadn't been sleeping well lately. A week had passed and her work at the manor was nearly done. She wondered briefly what would happen once she no longer had an excuse to go there.

Would Draco forget about her, again?

Shaking her head as if to clear it, Ginny set her handbag and folders down on her sturdy standard-issue desk, where she noticed a plain white Ministry envelope, addressed to one _Ms. Ginevra Weasley_,lay waiting.

Opening it with some curiosity, she discovered it was an invitation to a formal Ministry dinner party that was to be held on the following week.

'_To bestow upon Draco Malfoy the Order of Merlin, first class, in acknowledgement and celebration of his immense contribution to wizardkind.'_

Ginny gaped.

Draco tended to be disdainful about this sort of thing, but still, the fact remained it was an incredible honor. Ginny's lips curved into a faint smile and she discovered herself feeling a sad sort of pride over him.

"Darling!" Narcissa's youthful voice called out from Ginny's Floo line.

"Hi!" the redhead greeted her, with some surprise.

"Did you hear? Draco's getting an Order of Merlin!" the older witch squealed.

Ginny laughed. "Yes, I heard."

"Well, we need to see about our dresses. Are you free this afternoon?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "You want to go shopping with me?" she asked, blushing.

Narcissa laughed daintily. "Oh, dear, you're so funny! You always make laugh! _Shopping!"_ She shook her head and her black eyes sparkled with mirth. "Georgino will be here at five to get our measurements; do you think you can make it?"

Ginny goggled back at her, shocked.

_Georgino? _As in _the_ Georgino Frometta, the world renowned Italian designer?

"Um, yeah, sure," she said, trying not to sound stupid.

_Too late, Ginny,_ she thought wryly.

"Wonderful, I'll see you this afternoon then," Narcissa said happily, and her silver head disappeared from the fireplace.

**X**

He was sitting at the piano Ginny had had placed in the sitting room of the East Wing.

The room had turned out rather contemplative, and there was something elegant and melancholic about it that Ginny hadn't really been striving for, but somehow achieved.

This was her favorite room, because it was the one that most reminded her of Draco. It reminded her of the sadness that she sensed in him at all moments, even when he had been at his happiest, when his silver eyes were lit with joy and good-humor.

Ginny observed the elegant line of Draco's back as he sat on the piano stool. His head was inclined, and his silvery blond hair curled slightly over the collar of his dark shirt.

Her heart swelled with love and longing; for the millionth time since she'd heard the news, she thanked God that he was alive.

She approached him silently and watched as his long, elegant fingers spread out over the black and white keys.

"Well are you just going to stand there and gawk all day, Weasley?" Draco demanded with a drawl, all the while edging away gracefully and making room for her to sit beside him.

She did.

"Georgino Frometta is here," she announced conversationally, as the blond rifled through the music sheets. "Aren't you going to get your measurements taken?"

"No. I already had him make me a fall wardrobe last month," Draco replied, sounding bored.

_Of course,_ Ginny thought wryly_. I shop at 'Discount Diva', Draco gets his entire season's wardrobe done by the most famous designer in the world._

"What about your award ceremony?" she wanted to know. "Won't you have him make you something for that?"

"What, _Witch Weekly's_ 'Sexiest Young Heir' award?" Draco inquired, raising an eyebrow. "I appreciate your confidence, but I'm not sure I'll win. The competition's pretty stiff this year…"

"N-n-n-o-o-o-o," Ginny said with feigned patience, as if speaking to a small, irrational child. "The _Order of Merlin_, remember _that_?" Pausing to think for a moment, she rolled her eyes; Draco was actually nominated for the Witch Weekly award, as well.

"Oh. _That_," he said dismissively, but his perfect lips twitched with the beginnings of a smile. "I have to wear my family robes for that. That fashion hasn't changed in a thousand years, and I don't think mum would let me change it now."

"Oh." It had never occurred to her, but _of course _he'd wear his Malfoy robes.

It was symbolic of the new, honest path the family would be walking down, with Draco as heir. It really was appropriate.

Once again Ginny felt a surge of pride.

Draco sighed, apparently not inspired to play anything from the sheet music. Closing his eyes, he spread his fingers over the keys again and began to play from memory.

His long, nimble fingers drew out the sweet, melancholic notes of a song Ginny recognized instantly. She turned to look at him in amazement.

"That's a Muggle song, by the Smiths!" she exclaimed. "I didn't even know… I mean, I never knew you liked that song…."

"_So?" _Draco answered, stopping abruptly and turning to glare at her. "Are you supposed to know _everything_ about me?"

_YES_, Ginny wanted to say. She glared back at him for a moment, and then turned to the piano. Spreading her small hands over the keys, she picked up the tune where he'd left off.

If Draco was surprised, he didn't let on.

He merely turned to observe her face as she played, an inscrutable expression on his delicate features, and then smiled when she began humming, quite unaware that she was doing it.

"_Hmmm…deep in the cell of my heart, I will be so glad to go…" s_he sang softly to herself.

"I didn't know you played," Draco said at last, as she drew the final notes.

"No," Ginny said, grinning widely. "You didn't."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Draco inquired sarcastically. "That back in Camelot when we were friends you never told me that you played?"

"Camelot?" Ginny tilted her head to the side, looking at him inquiringly.

"Well, you get this really idiotic, faraway look on your face when you talk about it," Draco began, ignoring the dark look the redhead shot him. "So I figured you thought it was some idyllic paradise lost…"

"It _was_ idyllic," Ginny said firmly. "It was wonderful. A Weasley and a Malfoy, overcoming all forms of social constraint. All social pretenses were gone, and all that was left was just common humanity." _And you loved me_, she wanted to add.

"Girl, spare me," Draco scoffed, holding up one of his beautiful hands in front of her face. "What is this, the unofficial launch of the Weasley/Malfoy 2008 campaign? What next, an interpretive dance of 'Ebony and Ivory'?"

Ginny laughed, tossing her head back.

Draco gaped, and it took him a moment to realize his mouth was hanging open.

It was lovely, her laughter; the sound of hundreds of tiny silver bells, tinkling merrily.

"How about," she said, when her laughter had subsided, "_Copper_ and Ivory?" Taking a lock of her red hair, she brushed it across Draco's face back and forth, with mock seriousness.

Draco raised his eyebrows and closed his eyes, catching the faint scent of strawberries in her hair. A moment later he opened his eyes and remained unmoving.

Ginny looked up at him grinning, but her smile quickly faded when she saw the intense look of concentration he was giving her.

"What?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Draco met her eyes in silence.

_Gypsy eyes,_ he thought, absently, as their eyes locked. _She has eyes like a gypsy. Soulful, and deep._

Ginny looked unnerved, but continued to gaze into Draco's silver eyes.

_Silly girl, _he thought longingly,_ If you want me, then why..._

Draco wanted so badly to kiss her, to feel her plump, rosy lips pressed against his, wondering what she would taste like, and knowing instinctively that he would like it.

But so far Ginny had rejected all of his advances, from the subtle insinuations to the crasser _"Weasley, it's a fine day for a shag, wouldn't you say?"_

There was an obvious chemistry between them, a certain tension he felt could only be relieved by acting on their desires. And beyond that, there was a sadness in her that he recognized, because it somehow mirrored his own.

The strange thing was that he could see in her eyes that she wanted him, he saw the way she looked at him, with longing and sadness.

_But if I touch her, she brushes me off, _Draco thought with irritation, remembering her hand against his chest, pushing him away, despite the yearning in her eyes._ What the fuck does she want from me, my goddamn soul??_

"I just don't understand you," he said after a moment. It was not a question, and he didn't seem to be expecting a reply.

Ginny's amber eyes were looking at him with obvious confusion, but she said nothing.

Sighing, Draco stood up from the stool and walked to the door. "Don't touch anything," he told her haughtily, turning to look at her briefly with a raised eyebrow. "Othello will be watching you, you know. He _always_ is…"

Ginny smirked in reply and remained unmoving until he had left. And then she put her face in her hands and leaned forward against the hard surface of the piano.

**X**

"Gin, please. Come with me to lunch," Colin Creevey was saying, smiling winningly.

He was comfortably seated across from her in her office, having taken some time off from his photography work at the Daily Prophet to drop in and visit his old friend.

"Merlin knows you need it," he added, looking at her lingeringly. "You've gotten so… _skinny_…"

"So I've heard," Ginny commented sardonically.

A moment later she paused from her work of signing memos and looked down at herself.

Where her breasts would have once strained against her blouse, now the cloth hung loosely over her upper body; if she had cared to, Ginny would have recalled that last week she had to resort to a shrinking charm to stop her pants from falling off.

_Maybe there's some truth to this scare-crowish hobo business…_

But what was she supposed to do? She was never hungry anymore.

"Colin, I've got work to do. Besides, I'm not even hungry," Ginny said with finality, sinking back into her leather chair.

Sighing, she put a hand on the back of her neck and began rubbing absently. She was both surprised and alarmed when Colin jumped from his seat across her desk and offered to help.

_Geez, it's been, what, eight years and he still doesn't give up? _

Ginny was fond of Colin, and he had proven to be a good friend, but every once in a while, when he was single, he would do something disturbing to let her know he hadn't quite given up on her yet.

"I'm good with my hands," he was saying now with a smile, and before she could stop him he began kneading the tense muscles of Ginny's neck and shoulders with surprising dexterity.

"Colin!" she protested, twisting around to look at him. "Colin, please… I don't need… _Mmm_… oooh… hey, that's not bad…" Ginny murmured, closing her eyes and tilting her head down to allow him more access to the back of her neck. "That's not bad at all… _oooh, _nice_… ahhh…"_

"Am I interrupting something?" a male voice said icily.

Both Colin and Ginny froze, he standing behind her with both hands on her shoulders, Ginny with her head hanging in abandon and her mouth half open.

She had recognized the deep, lovely voice, so like steel and velvet, immediately. When she finally dared to open her eyes, however, she was still surprised to see Draco Malfoy standing at the door of her office.

He was wearing that slightly mussed hair style that suited him so well, and was dressed in a very well fitting pair of jeans. Over this he wore a black blazer with a white t-shirt underneath. A pair of classic high top Converse sneakers covered his feet.

Draco's stunningly grey eyes were piercing hers, and though his exquisite face was expressionless, Ginny she could tell he was not amused.

"Um…" she began, feeling incredibly guilty. He might not remember her, but the fact remained he was still her boyfriend…

"_Malfoy?_" Colin said with obvious surprise, not removing his hands from Ginny's shoulders, much to her chagrin. "What are you doing here?"

Draco tore his eyes away from Ginny's and turned to Colin with a 'and _you_ are?' expression on his arrogant features that Ginny was sure her friend did not appreciate.

"Uh, Malfoy, this is Colin," she hastened to say. "Colin Creevey. You remember him; he went to Hogwarts with us."

"Um, _no_," Draco said a little forcibly. "I can't say I remember him at all."

Ginny rolled her eyes. The sad part was he was probably not even pretending. Draco had always been someone whose attention you had to earn, and it was likely that he had never bothered to notice a too-skinny Gryffindor boy with a camera.

Still, the fact remained he was being rude, which was very rare for him. He was always polite, almost to a fault -when he wasn't being a prick, of course- a sign of his privileged upbringing.

_Why is he acting like that… _she wondered, puzzled_… could it be that he's …JEALOUS?_

Ginny's heart soared at the thought, and she suddenly recalled the fights they'd had over Harry when they were together.

"_You had a very intimate conversation this morning. With_ Harry Potter. _I DEMAND to know what it was about."_

"_What intimate conversation? Draco, Harry Potter was five feet away from me!"_

Draco was not what she would call insecure, but he was still surprisingly possessive in an almost primal way, staking his claim on her from the start.

So that's how it was, then. Draco was jealous.

Of Colin Creevey.

It was almost funny, but she was disinclined to laugh at the moment.

Ginny straightened her shoulders, causing Colin's hands to fall off of her. "Well, Colin and I were just going out to lunch. What can I do for you, Malfoy?" she said calmly, though her heart was thundering in her chest.

Draco raised a delicate eyebrow and looked at Colin again. Standing there, casually gorgeous with a hand on his slender hip, Draco looked like he was waiting for someone to finish doing a portrait of him.

"Really, how quaint," he said, sounding amused and vaguely bored, but there was a tension around his mouth Ginny was familiar with; he was obviously upset. "I hate to interrupt, but you _do_ recall we had an appointment, Ginevra."

Ginny looked at him in shock.

First of all, _no_, they did_ not_ have an appointment, and secondly, he had called her by her given name. Never did such a word sound as beautiful as when it came from his lips.

"Um no, I uh, didn't recall, actually, Malfoy," she said, out of clumsiness more than daring, but Draco seemed to interpret it as a challenge.

"Well, we _do_," he replied, his pewter colored eyes narrowing. "We're to go to Flaubert's to pick out some garden furniture, remember?"

"Oh," Ginny said, standing mechanically and grabbing for her purse. "Well in that case… Colin, I'm sorry. I have to go with Mr. Malfoy, because we have some… business… things. Business things to take care of…"

Colin was looking from her to Draco with an expression of surprise that quickly turned to dawning.

"Oh, of course," he said quickly, and Ginny secretly praised her friend, remembering why she loved him so much.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'll make it up to you." Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek that didn't go unnoticed by Draco, Ginny left with the tall blond following after her, and Colin didn't know whether to feel insulted or grateful that the former Slytherin left without so much as a glance in his direction.

**X**

Instead of going to Flaubert's for furniture they went to La Bat's, a chic new restaurant that had opened in the center of London.

Draco helped Ginny in and out of the carriage, offering his hand without so much as a word or a glance. She put her small hand in his, feeling shockwaves run through her skin when it made contact with his, but didn't glance up into his face either.

Ginny, who, since it was Friday, was dressed in jeans and a pretty double layered top, couldn't help the flutter in her chest when she saw their reflection in the restaurant's polished glass door. They looked _so good_ together! Could he see that?

"So," Draco said, once they were seated, his deep voice completely neutral. "Is that your mystery man? The one you were so in love with you didn't want to sleep with me back in Hogwarts?"

Ginny choked on her wine.

She took a moment to set her glass carefully on the table and then wiped her chin hastily. "_What_? Oh come _on_, Draco," she huffed, and didn't notice until much later how his name had just rolled off her tongue -Draco, however, noted it instantly and was filled with a secret glee that was to him quite unexpected-"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous!"

Draco scoffed, not even bothering to deny her claim. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say _you_ were desperate," he countered, looking up from his menu. "How can you let an _ape_ like that paw at you…"

"Hey!" Ginny said, with real heat in her voice. "Colin is my friend, don't talk about him like that."

"He's an oaf," Draco muttered from behind his menu.

A moment later he looked up at her, his steel grey eyes framed by the top border of the leather bound menu.

Ginny's stomach did a weird flop and she trembled like a leaf, but she did not look away.

"If you wanted a massage," he said softly, "You only had to say so."

The fiery haired girl's breath caught in her throat, and she tried to cover it up under a cough.

Draco beheld her evenly, allowing himself a small smirk before adding "We have the best masseuses in the UK, over at the manor."

Ginny's expression did not change, but she buried her face behind her menu so as to not look at him, that he wouldn't see the river of mixed emotions reflected in her eyes.

The meal was rather enjoyable; their food was very good, and after the initial tension had passed they had fallen to pleasant conversation.

Draco offered no explanation for making her break her supposed lunch date with Colin, and Ginny didn't dare ask.

"I want you to try something called 'Morti'," he said, leafing through the desert menu. "It's a kind of chocolate truffle, and It's…" he paused, looking her straight in the eye, "_Orgasmic_."

Draco held her gaze for a moment, his mercury eyes unreadable but smoldering her with their intensity. "You look like you need it," he said, softly. A moment later he turned his attention back to the menu, and added, "The sugar, I mean. You're much too thin."

Ginny, who was feeling like a wax figure held too close to a flame, was trying to keep herself from sliding down her chair into a crumpled heap on the floor. In that instant she resolved to regain all the weight she had lost.

Once he had paid the staggering check (_sixty_ galleons, for the wine alone!), Draco led her out of the restaurant and helped her back into the imposing black carriage. She was surprised when he dropped her off at work again.

"But what about Flaubert's?" Ginny asked, puzzled.

She was standing in the sunlight, and had to shade her eyes with her hand to be able to look up at him. The sun fell on her hair, making it sparkle like new copper.

"Don't you remember?" Draco said, looking down at her through the window of the black Malfoy carriage. His eyes lingered on her hair for a moment, then met hers. "That's tomorrow, at four. Kiki, to the manor please," he told the House Elf at the front, and didn't so much as glance in her direction again as the carriage drove off.

Ginny was left standing in the front steps of the Ministry, her heart beating a thousand times a minute, trembling despite the heat of the sun on her skin.

_Blessed cricket!_

_...Did we just go out on a date?_

**X**

Later that week Ginny sat at Ron and Hermione's dining room table, eating with more enthusiasm than the two had ever seen her display over food. She was determined to gain back her old weight, and to her surprise, her appetite had come back.

Her brother and her best friend exchanged amused looks as she reached over for a second helping of mashed potatoes.

It was great to see Ginny like this, eating, finally, and taking care of her appearance more than she ever had previously.

Hermione had burned the Chudley Cannons shirt that was all Ginny had worn during her months of grieving Draco -and for no particular reason, mind you, except that it was comfortable and worn, just so- and this act had been a sign of the new period of mental health and stability in Ginny's life. She looked absolutely beautiful and glowing.

"These mashed potatoes are delicious, Mione!" she commented, scooping up another forkful.

"Actually," Hermione said, glancing at her boyfriend lovingly. "Ron made them. He made dinner tonight."

Ginny glanced from her friend to her brother and smiled warmly.

It took her several years to admit it, but it was true-they really were cute together.

"I had no choice…" Ron began, and then closed his mouth when the brunette at his side shot him a look. He glared back, and for a moment no one said anything.

Then one of them smiled. A moment later they both leaned in to share a quick peck on the lips.

"It's delicious, Ron," Ginny praised, smiling at their silent communication.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy despite her love for the both of them, though, because this simple life was everything she had wanted for herself and Draco.

Hermione and her long time boyfriend had moved in together a year ago, and still seemed to be floating around in a cloud of domestic bliss, contrary to all predictions. The two seemed to have built a solid bond that had withstood the war, and everything else.

With Ron's Auror salary and Hermione's teaching commission at Hogwarts, the two were now able to afford the lovely town house in which they lived in the London suburbs.

"Hey, Gin," her brother said carefully, turning to her, and Ginny knew he was going to say something about Draco. "We got an invitation to Malfoy's Order of Merlin ceremony tomorrow night," he said, tossing his broccoli around his plate. "I think he really… he really deserves it, you know. So, congratulations, I guess. You must be really proud."

Ginny looked at Ron with obvious surprise, and then her face broke into a smile. It had taken Ron a long time to get used to the idea of her and Draco together, but knowing that he supported her was wonderful for Ginny. She knew he would come around, sooner or later.

Charlie had always been her favorite brother, but over the years she had grown closer to Ron, who always seemed to be there for her in the most difficult moments of her life.

She would always remember the way Ron had gathered her in his arms when he found her crumpled on the floor of the train compartment she had shared with Draco, on that last ride on the Hogwarts express, just before the start of the war. She had collapsed into a trembling heap after they had said goodbye, after he had left, and Ron was the one who had come to pick up the pieces of what was left of her.

Ginny smiled at Ron warmly and patted his hand.

Hermione smiled with happiness and Ron looked embarrassed, but didn't remove his hand.

"So are you going?" Ginny inquired.

"Yeah," Ron said, sighing. "So are Harry and Luna, and I think mum and dad, too. Just because it's a Ministry thing…"

Ginny smiled again, her mashed potatoes momentarily forgotten. It was important for her that her father see Draco being honored like this.

Her parents had not approved of her relationship when they'd found out at the break of the war, after it was over, of course, not so much because Draco was a Death Eater, although that was certainly a factor- but because of the effect this bond seemed to have on Ginny.

She had put her life entirely on hiatus while waiting for Draco to come back to her, refusing even to go out on dates with what Mrs. Weasley called "eligible young men".

Ginny hoped that seeing him receive the highest honor in the wizarding world would help sway her parents' opinion on the Malfoy heir.

Once dinner was over, Ginny went into the kitchen to help Hermione with the dishes.

"Anything new?" she asked anxiously. She had been holding back the question all night, realizing that lately whenever she talked to her best friend, it was to discuss Draco.

Hermione smiled. "Actually… maybe. Let me ask you a question, Gin…"

"Anything," Ginny said urgently, forgetting the dishes and everything else.

"Since he's come into contact with you, has Malfoy ever had any symptoms of illness or depression?"

"Well, he's never said anything to me…" Ginny began thoughtfully, "But his mum says he gets a lot of headaches and he was awfully upset when he saw me at Flourish and Blotts. And sometimes… sometimes he becomes awfully silent, like he's sad…"

"Really?" Hermione said, looking surprised. "Interesting..."

"What?"

"You know how people say love is a state of mind? Well, it's not," the brunette said firmly. "It's much more than that…. Love, real love, leaves an imprint on the soul that alters it forever. No amount of magic can erase that, no matter how powerful the curse…"

Ginny leaned forward, as if physical proximity could make her understand her friend's words better. "So, you're saying…"

"I'm saying that I've always had my doubts about Malfoy really being in love with you, back at school," Hermione said quietly, meeting her friend's eyes. "And it seems I have been wrong."

"What are you saying, Hermione?" Ginny nearly pleaded, wringing her hands nervously.

"_Omni vincet amor_…Love conquers all," her friend murmured softly.

"It does?" Ginny said, fighting tears.

"It really does, and it just may be the key to unlocking Draco's memory. Somewhere inside of him there's the memory of you, and nothing can erase that… that's why he's exhibiting symptoms of physical rejection of the spell."

"How, then… I mean…"

"I don't know yet," Hermione admitted. "But I'll keep researching. I have stacks of books to read through yet. Love is a very powerful form of magic, Gin." She became thoughtful again, and after a moment added "I'll keep looking, but I'm starting to think the key to unlocking everything might very well be within _him_."

Ginny pondered this in silence, feeling the glow of hope that had never really left her growing stronger inside her heart.

"Hey, you witches, I want my dessert!" Ron called out from the dining room.

Hermione rolled her eyes around and smiled, reaching for the treacle tart on the kitchen table.

"Come on Gin, let's hurry before Ron morphs into the Incredible Hulk… you know how he is about sweets…"

Ginny smiled and followed her friend out of the kitchen, much happier than she'd been when she'd walked in.

**X**

It was a beautiful afternoon, with bright happy sunlight sparkling over the freshly cut grass, and fluffy white clouds navigating lazily in the heavens above.

They walked in silence around the fields surrounding Malfoy Manor, with Draco slowing his naturally long stride to allow Ginny's feet, which were clad in flat Roman sandals under her long white summer dress, to weave a path carefully through the grass.

_Little girl's feet_, he thought absently, observing her toenails, which were painted coral pink.

Narcissa had insisted that Draco show Ginny the property's ancient stone well, saying she wanted 'something done' around it. The truth was Ginny's work at the mansion was all but over, and Draco's mother wanted to stall as much as possible.

To reach the well one had to weave one's way through several grassy paths, kept magically trimmed by house elves, and walk by Ginny's Lake, which now rippled softly in the late summer breeze.

The little boats bobbed up and down cheerfully as Draco and his redheaded companion passed by in amenable silence. They walked under the shade of a magical white parasol, enchanted to float over them, distorting their shadows.

Draco cast her Ginny a surreptitious glance, suddenly remembering the melancholic notes of the song she had played, and the way she had looked playing, and realized he almost felt at peace.

"What books?" he inquired, all of a sudden, and she turned to look at him. "What Muggle books did we read?"

Ginny stopped walking and after a moment, so did he.

Draco turned to look at her, standing some steps away, shading his silver eyes against the sun. In the light, his silver irises shimmered almost white against the dark centers of his pupils.

Ginny looked up into the mercury depths for a moment, and then turned her eyes away, afraid that he might read there the pain his words had produced. The image that her mind conjured was so painfully clear, it hurt her physically.

_She was lying on her side, feeling the warmth of Draco's body spooned behind hers. His arm was around her, and he rested the book gently on her shoulder as he read softly out loud from it. _

"_Only we two were not sleeping, the lad and I, and we talked of the beauty of this world of God's and of the great mystery of it. Look, said I, at the horse, that great beast so near to man, or the lowly pensive ox, which feeds him and works for him, look at their faces, what meekness, what devotion to man, who often beats them mercilessly. What gentleness, what confidence, and what beauty!"_

_Draco's deep voice had the gentle cadence of a natural story-teller, and listening to him made the images of what he read come alive in her mind. He paused to kiss her shoulder, and turned the page. _

"_How good is that, how good and beautiful is all God's work, said he."_

"The Brothers Karamazov," she said softly, meeting his eyes. "Anna Karenina. We were going through our Russian period…"

Draco observed her in silence, with his hands in his pockets, as the sun played gold and white in his hair. He looked searchingly at Ginny's face, seeing her beautiful eyes gleaming softly, but said nothing.

Suddenly Ginny turned away and started walking back in the direction of the mansion, and the enchanted parasol followed after her.

A moment later, so did Draco.

**X**

* * *

**A/N**: come on, you guys! What happened to my once faithful readers? Why aren't you guys reviewing?? Surely you must know how good it feels to get feedback...

**Be kind and please review! ;)**

What was your favorite part of the chapter? Mine was the whole Colin-Ginny-Draco massage sequence. I laughed the whole time while I was writing it!

P.S: brace yourself, shameless plug ahead. I need to pimp my fics:  
**please check out my new fic, "Cruel". It's D/G** of course, and it's rather good, if I may say so myself. ;p

It was once a one-shot and is now a chaptered story (three-shot), at the suggestion of **MalfoyDebauchery**. Go read it! (please... :) )


	6. Starry Eyed Surprise

**TO ALL WHO REVIEWED:** THANKS! You guys are awesome!! Unfortunately ff. net seems to be acting up and PMing and review replies don't work right now,so if I didn't answer your review, know that you made my day anyway! -beams-

_Almost_ as good as "Ginny the Dragon Slayer"? LOL. Ok, I think I can live with that. **;)**

**Disclaimer: **the song _Whole of the Law_ , by Yo La Tengo, does not belong to me, as do neither of the other songs mentioned in this chapter.

**Note:** be warned, the soundtrack of this chapter is extensively detailed! It's the most self indulgent thing I've ever written….

I advise you youtube the songs if you can!

* * *

**The World Inverted**

**Chapter Six: "Starry Eyed Surprise" **or **"The Most Self-Indulgent Chapter Ever Written"**

_Waiting in the wind,  
whispering the things  
I want you to know…  
I want you to know._

_Here in the dark,  
I feel electric.  
I sense my skin,  
in between the waves._

_I am human.  
I am criminal,  
but I feel life  
here in my heart again…_

_Only for you  
only for you  
only you,  
only you…_

--"Here In the Dark", by Shelley Harland

**X**

Draco Malfoy was standing in the middle of the crowded Ministry ballroom, clad in full Malfoy regalia; this consisted of a black shirt with multiple frills and laces, black trousers, black knee-high boots and intricate black robes.

The robe in itself was a work of art. It was double-breasted and closely fitting, displaying his lean, graceful build, and came down to his knees. Rows of silver buttons ran down the backs of the layered sleeves, and there were silver beads embroidered in the shape of a coiled snake on the front. A silver snake clasping the high cut collar added a final touch of drama to the ensemble.

Getting into the family robes was an intricate process, which had been overseen by Narcissa. Draco's mother was stunning as per usual in her lovely peach colored gown, her silvery hair done up into a stately bun.

She had entertained herself by spiking the back of her son's fair hair, which was cut in layers, down the center of his head, and sleeking the sides along his scalp while the House Elves dressed him.

To his mother's dismay once Draco was fully dressed he categorically refused to have his exotic hair style -which he referred to as a 'mohawk'- removed. He complained that his outfit was unfashionable enough, and that he needed an aggressive hair style to avoid looking like a _total_ wanker.

Narcissa complained at first, but then decided to let him be. The truth was he looked beautiful. There was a decidedly martial air about him, and for some reason the exotic hair went perfectly with his old-world outfit, accentuating the delicacy of his lovely features and his clothing.

"Of course mother," Draco had answered matter-of-factly. "It's quite simple, really: opera meets metal. When you hear it, all you can say is: now why didn't they think of that before?"

"_Of course_," Narcissa said gravely, but she was smirking. "Now get in the carriage."

At the moment Draco was surrounded by people, and he was suddenly and painfully reminded of Lucius at social gatherings. His father, too, had seemed to command attention wherever he went, and there had always seemed to be people following him around.

Draco's gaze shifted over the shoulder of the beautiful black haired witch woman who was talking to him at present, to the top of the stairs leading into the Ministry's ballroom, where a group of formally dressed people were making their entrance. As he nodded absently at the annoying witch at his side, Draco's attention was immediately drawn to a magnificent head of gorgeous red hair, and he wasn't surprised to find that it was Ginny.

He could just make her out behind Harry-Bleeding-Potter, who had arrived with his wife, the pretty blond Ravenclaw Draco remembered teasing for her air-headedness back at Hogwarts.

Draco tried to get a better glimpse of Ginny, but the crowd kept shielding her from him as if deliberately. And then suddenly, like a wave, they seemed to part, and Draco's mouth fell open when he saw her.

Ginny was descending the stairs carefully, with one of her hands gracefully gathering the flowing skirts of her gown so as not to trip.

Draco couldn't help but notice that Georgino had outdone himself. Ginny's beautiful white dress was strapless, made of a very fine material, like gossamer. The floor length hem of her flowing skirt was lined with beads, painstakingly embroidered by Georgino's House Elves. The bodice, however, was bone-crunchingly tight and hugged all her curves in the right places, displaying her slender waist.

It was then Draco realized that Ginny had put on some weight, and no longer had the scary skinny, waif-like appearance of the first days of their acquaintance. She was deliciously curvy and decidedly feminine.

Her make-up was lovely, as were her shoes and the small purse in her hand. Unlike most of the women present, who wore their hair up in intricate styles, Ginny's hair had been unabashedly let down in all its splendor, and stood out vivaciously against the delicate white of her gown, attracting the subtle glances of the people she passed by.

In short, Ginny was to him breathtakingly beautiful, like a delicate flower blooming before his very eyes. Draco remembered thinking once that he could never be moved by her beauty. Once again, she proved him wrong; his world was being rocked by her, right now.

The redhead caught sight of Draco and gaped, but quickly composed herself as she started threading her way through the crowd to reach him.

Somewhere a piano started playing a gentle, lovely tune that tugged at the heartstrings.

_How fitting..._Draco thought, as he watched Ginny approach him from behind a mask of indifference.

His face was perfectly expressionless when she stood in front of him, smiling radiantly, but something warm bubbled inside of him.

"They invited _you_?" he said, sounding incredulous, though he was perfectly aware that as a Ministry officer she would receive an invitation, and if she hadn't he would have invited her himself.

Ginny's smile never faltered, but she rolled her eyes around. "I'm glad to see you, too," she said, wanting to stick her tongue out at him but oddly enough not thinking it appropriate in her gorgeous dress. "You're beautiful," she babbled then, quite against her will.

The words had just tumbled out. But it was true…

Draco's lips twitched, but he didn't quite smile. The surge of emotions rippling through him at seeing Ginny was to Draco confusing and mortifying, almost.

Her face became serious after a moment, and she said, in a very soft voice he hadn't heard her use in a while, "Congratulations, Draco. You deserve this. Even if you don't remember what you've done, trust me, you did great things and you deserve this. You really do."

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise at both the use of his given name and her sincere words. No one else had thought he'd be feeling this way now— like a fraud.

Ginny pressed his hand gently, and he noted the way her amber eyes sparkled, as did the diamond earrings— a gift from Narcissa— in her ears. A lock of shockingly red hair fell on the alabaster of her bare shoulder, and he felt the urge to brush it off, but contained himself.

"Thank you," Draco said, meeting her eyes again. "And you…"

"Clean up nice?" she cut in, raising an eyebrow, but she looked amused.

"…look great," Draco said lamely, for once not knowing how to express himself.

He saw surprise dancing in her eyes at the poor compliment, and realized she had been expecting even less than that. With a ghost of smile quirking his sensuous lips, he leaned forward and tapped her temple softly. "Don't think so much, Weasley."

"Can you… please, just for tonight," she began quietly, her amber eyes meeting his. "Can you call me Ginny?"

Draco was surprised again, but only had time to nod. Their conversation was cut short as Aaron Crinkle, the Prime Minister of Magic, gave the welcoming words from a podium on a small stage at the end of the room.

Ginny took it as her cue to leave, and after greeting Narcissa with a warm hug and a kiss, excused herself and went to join the Gryffindor delegation at the far end of the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the Prime Minister boomed, in a surprisingly loud voice for such a small man. "Today we celebrate a very special man. One of England's finest sons…"

Draco tuned out, but he saw the rapt look in his mother's face as she stood next to him, and smiled. She had been quivering with pride ever since she'd heard her son would be receiving this award. He took her hand in his and squeezed it, and when she looked up at him, there were tears in her beautiful dark eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity, Crinkle finally stopped talking and invited Draco to join him onstage. The former Slytherin made his way through the crowd, aware that everyone's eyes were fixed on him, like thousands of needles prickling him.

But Draco had been used to this kind of attention all of his life -be it for his physical beauty, his money, or his family's influence- and in his mind tonight's award ceremony was no different than walking across the Great Hall with the eyes of the whole of the Hogwarts student body and faculty fixed on him.

The one thing that tugged at him was that he felt completely undeserving of this recognition, but then he remembered Ginny's warm eyes and quick smile, her soft hand pressing his.

"_Trust me…_" she had said.

Draco was at the podium now, exchanging bows with the Prime Minister, who presented him with the shiny medal that had his name engraved in the back. Draco accepted graciously and after a moment began speaking, completely at ease with himself. In brief words, he thanked the Ministry for the award, and all those present for celebrating with him and his family. He thanked his mother for her unconditional love and support, and, to everyone's surprise -most of all hers- he thanked Ginevra Weasley.

Draco did not elaborate on what exactly he was thanking her for though, and if pressed, he would have probably said "for redecorating my manor". The truth was he didn't really know _why_ he was thanking her. But, like so many things related to Ginny, on instinct it felt right and —to him—almost necessary.

**X**

The band on stage consisted of three extravagantly dressed musicians- two wizards and one witch- that no one had ever heard of. All criticism of them—and the Ministry for hiring no-names—was silenced when they began to play. They started with instrumental bossa nova to mellow out the guests while dinner was being served, and it worked. Soon the pomp of the event was laid aside, and people began to genuinely enjoy themselves.

Draco was never left alone; everyone wanted to be near the strikingly beautiful young hero, and there always seemed to be some witch or wizard at his side engaging him in boring conversation. His pewter colored eyes darted around the room constantly, looking around for Ginny, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, after some searching, he located her at Hermione Granger's side, with her brother, Ron, sitting on the other side of the brunette.

As the final dishes were served, the dance floor grew dark and thousands of tiny blue stars started twinkling in the ceiling. The band began to play, appropriately, the song "Starry Eyed Surprise" and as often happens with lively music played at parties, people split into small groups on the dance floor, as a never-ending shower of stars began to fall.

Draco, who was talking quietly with the Prime Minister in a corner of the room, found himself genuinely liking the guy. Crinkle, a Muggle-born, had come in like a breath of fresh air for the wizarding world, and in just four months of governing had already made some important changes for the better. His unique view of things and flamboyant spirit was perhaps reflected in this cheerful gathering; the mood was decidedly festive and everyone seemed to be enjoying it.

Suddenly Draco's eyes caught a flash of red on the dance floor and he couldn't help but smile when he saw Ginny dancing. She was part of a circle made by Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna and Fred Weasley- or it could have been George; Draco never could tell them apart.

She looked beautiful, dancing happily, holding hands with Hermione and singing out the lyrics as the stars twinkled around her lovely auburn hair.

Draco had to admit that even Granger looked beautiful under the twinkling lights, and judging by the idiotic expression on Ron's face as he looked at her, he saw it too.

Next the band played "American Boy", made popular in the wizarding world by the wizard-become-Muggle-singing star Kanye West, and for some reason this song reminded Ginny of Draco.

She danced happily, something she hadn't done since her last Spring Ball at Hogwarts, four years earlier.

Ginny, still reeling from the significance of Draco's thanking her at the end of his speech— she had nearly collapsed from joy— kept her eyes fixed on the platinum blond object of her affections at all times as she danced in her small group.

The band continued to play a string of similarly upbeat songs including "Rebel, Rebel" and "Don't Want To Hurt You" -(substituting the lyric _'trying not to fuck with your feelings' _with 'trying not to _funk_' in deference to the Prime Minister)- and finished their set with "Tarantula", by the Smashing Pumpkins.

Ginny was dancing with Luna and George while the hard rock beat blared out from the small stage, and even Luna and her brother's bizarre contortions couldn't distract her from Draco.

_I don't want to fight  
Every single night  
Everything I want is in your eyes_

At some point her eyes met his during the song, and Ginny, who was giddy with dancing and Dracos' praise, couldn't help but laugh. She could have sworn she saw him smile back.

When the song ended everyone took a well deserved break, with people returning to their tables fanning themselves and talking animatedly. At the punch table Ginny accepted a drink from Harry, and they smiled at each other, recalling the last time he offered her a drink at a ball.

She took a moment to see Harry, really see him, for the first time in several years, and realized that he probably would have made her happy. She would have ended up loving him, she realized now. But she could never love him in the way she loved Draco, and Harry would have resented her for that.

All in all, things were as they should be. Harry was happily married to Luna, Ginny was still jumping the moon over Draco, and Draco… well.

_Never mind that now,_ Ginny thought desperately, tossing back the rest of her drink.

For their second set the band opened with "And I've Got To Do" by The Beatles, and soon elegantly dressed couples could be seen dancing across the starlit floor.

Draco was at present dancing with an exotic looking blond witch Ginny couldn't identify and she decided it was probably one of his cousins, but felt a twinge of uneasiness just the same.

This might be the formidable Katerina Lee, who -after catching a brief glimpse of Draco through a door left ajar while she was visiting a brother in law at the hospital- had waited at the comatose Malfoy heir's bedside until he woke because, in her words (according to Narcissa), 'such a perfect specimen of male beauty had to have beautiful eyes', and she wanted to be the first to see them.

Draco hadn't mentioned her in a long time, and Ginny hadn't dared to ask about it when he had taken her out to lunch again. He always took her to the finest restaurants, and returned her to the Ministry in his carriage without so much as an attempt to kiss or fondle her. Part of her was disappointed but later she was shocked when she had understood that he was, in all probability, courting her.

Despite the fact that Draco was -by all accounts- a slut, when it came to Ginny he had for some reason always taken his time. When they were dating back at Hogwarts he had waited a long time before having sex with her, to the point where she had actually reproached him.

"I'm dating Draco fucking Malfoy. Why am I still a virgin?" she had demanded angrily of him, hurt at the thought that he might not want her.

Draco had silenced her with a smoldering kiss that melted her to the bare essentials of her being, disproving that particular theory. But he had taken his sweet time.

The fact that he was doing so now meant that she must be doing _something_ right. Didn't it?

Still, there were some times she wished he would just kiss her already, and she thought he might be doing it on purpose to build her up.

Draco and the unnamed blond continued to dance, and when the song ended and he escorted the woman back to her table, Ginny couldn't help but notice how good they looked together.

_It's always like this! -_she fumed- _I __**always**__ have to stand by and watch him waltz around with some drop dead gorgeous bimbo dangling off his arm…can't __**I **__be the one to dance?_

Just when Ginny thought she was about to be sick, Ron asked her to dance. The band was playing "Sanctuary", by Terrence Howard, and although, as with the previous song, she wished to be dancing to this with Draco, she accepted gladly and they soon joined the other couples on the dance floor.

"I'm happy for you, Gin," Ron said shyly.

"What do you mean?"

"Look at you. You're glowing," he said, with admiration. Ginny smiled, touched. Of course he had to ruin it all a second later by adding "A month ago you looked like you were on crack!"

"Thanks, Ron," she said dryly, but had to laugh.

"Crack is whack, Gin."

"Okay, Ron, I get it. Thanks."

"No really, you've even started getting chubby now." Ginny shot him a horrified look and he hastened to backtrack. "I mean, compared to the living-dead thinness you had before... not that you're fat now, or anything…."

"Ron, you really need to shut up now, okay?"

Ginny danced with Harry and then George, watching Draco dance with Narcissa out of the corner of her eye to the rather sinister -but oddly fitting- "As I Went Out One Morning" by Bob Dylan.

Ginny watched Draco hold his mother lightly as they twirled about; Narcissa looked like she was on cloud nine, and her son had a contented sort of grin. Ginny knew Draco had always worshiped his mother, but every childhood memory he had of her was tinted with sadness or pain, thanks to Lucius.

Now they looked so beautiful, so happy and so free that Ginny's eyes filled with tears when she saw them together.

The dance ended and after a visit to the inevitable punch bowl, the redhead sat back at her table again, in between Ron and Harry. She half listened as the men discussed the upcoming Quidditch League Cup finals, but her attention was quickly diverted when she discovered Draco Malfoy looking at her intently from across the room. She had no way of knowing he had been covertly observing her all night.

Quite suddenly Draco excused himself from the person talking to him and walked straight to where she sat. Harry and Ron had already congratulated their blond nemesis, albeit awkwardly, upon arriving at the ball, so he didn't glance at them now. He had only eyes for Ginny.

"Care to dance?" Draco said casually, as if he used the expression on a daily basis.

Ginny tried her best to appear just as nonchalant, but failed miserably when something that sounded suspiciously like a giggle escaped her lips.

"I'll take that as a yes," Draco said with a slight smirk, offering his hand to her as their eyes locked.

Ginny stood, putting her small hand in his, and her heart felt so full of love and emotion she feared it might burst from her chest. He smiled as he looked at her, a real, genuine smile. He couldn't help himself, the girl was positively beaming and it seemed contagious.

"Why do you look so happy?" Draco said wonderingly as he led her by the hand to the center of the room.

"I don't know," Ginny whispered, looking away and fighting back tears.

_We've never danced together before..._

Draco drew her to him as the band began to play, his eyes never leaving her face.

The two male singers, their voices clear and sweet, one high, one low, began to sing another old folk song Ginny had never heard before.

_Well, I used to have the notion I could swim the length of the ocean_

_If I knew that you were waiting for me_

Draco looked at her intently, one hand in hers, the other on her waist as he drew her even closer to him. Ginny continued to look away; she feared if she met Draco's eyes at this point she might break down.

She melted into him, her warm, fragrant body pressed against Draco's in a way that was to her completely familiar, and to him an amazing discovery.

His senses seemed to have been heightened almost painfully as he took in Ginny's lovely, blushing face and the gentle music, his trained ear picking out every instrument: the sweet and mournful guitar, the gentle fiddle, and the soft, irregular bongos. And then Ginny drew closer to him, and Draco felt the gentle weight of her chin on his shoulder, the softness of her cheek against his.

_I used to have the notion I could swim the length of the ocean_

_I'd plumb the depths of every sea for you_

_I'd escape from my chains, and I'd reach out for you_

Ginny felt so right to him, her hand in his, as they swayed together to the mellow music and the tender voices. Draco drew away to look into her amber eyes, which were gleaming softly.

She looked up into his stormy gray eyes in silence. There was a look in them she had never seen before. It was the light of acknowledgment, as if he were seeing her, really seeing her, for the first time. But there was definite confusion in his countenance, as if he weren't sure of what he was feeling.

_Maybe I'm in love with you_

_Maybe, maybe I'm in love with you_

Ginny looked away, biting her lip. Her eyes, wide and unblinking, were swimming with unshed tears and it took all she had to not break down. How beautiful, how sweet and how terrible it was to see that look in Draco's beautiful eyes…

_That's it, that's the law, that's the whole of the law…_

Draco's eyes had not left her face. He drew her to him again, this time with both of his arms around her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, their faces very close together.

It was Draco who bridged the small distance between them to seal her lips with his. Time seemed to slow down for Ginny as she felt his lips, just as tender and incredibly soft as she remembered, brush against hers gently, opening and closing to capture hers. His hands kneaded her waist and rose up her back, to her neck, pressing her against him insistently, as if he couldn't stand being apart from her.

Shockwaves broke and rippled over Ginny's skin as Draco's lips continued to brush against hers, capturing and releasing in equal measure, and she found herself winding her fingers through his impossibly soft hair as he drew her to him, his face angled to hers. The tip of his tongue brushed against her lower lip before fully thrusting into her mouth and caressing her tongue softly.

Ginny's limbs became jelly and her knees buckled, so that if he hadn't been holding her she would have surely crumpled to the floor. Draco continued to claim her mouth as his once again, leaving her breathless; after a moment, however, he remembered himself and where they were, and broke the kiss gently, drawing away.

Ginny remained motionless; she hadn't had a chance to react at all and the kiss had left her tingling almost painfully. He was looking down at her, meeting her eyes. His face was expressionless and that scared her, but then he caressed her cheek softly with his fingers, and she felt somehow reassured.

Ginny closed her eyes during the rest of the song and rested her chin on his shoulder. With her cheek pressed against the impossible softness of his, she enjoyed the feel of Draco's strong arms encircling her waist and pressing her against him, the warmth of him, and his familiar scent as he held her, swaying softly.

Unbeknown to them, all who saw them were amazed at how good they looked together, despite how sharply they contrasted: His dark robes looked even more sinister against the pure white of her gown, and she in turn looked even more angelic trapped in his embrace.

However, with his pale blond hair and exceptional beauty, and her fiery red mane of hair, tumbling down her back, shining red and orange in the light, the roles could have easily been inverted: he an angel held in thrall by the devil herself.

Even the most jaded and cynical of observers –and Ron Weasley was neither- felt strangely moved at seeing them. Watching them dance, the youngest male Weasley found himself remembering a sunny afternoon on the platform 9 3/4, when Draco Malfoy, with tears in his eyes, had asked him take care of Ginny.

**X**

She wished fervently the song would never end so she could stay with him like this forever, but all too soon, it seemed, the song ended. They broke apart, both unknowingly mourning the loss of the other's proximity.

Draco didn't look at Ginny again as he led her back to the table, afraid of what he might see in her eyes and how it would make him feel. Already he was feeling extremely vulnerable, as if he were walking around naked amongst all the elegantly dressed guests. The taste of her still navigated on his lips.

He escorted her back to her table and released her hand gently. "Thank you," he murmured softly, meeting Ginny's eyes briefly and then walking away.

There was a strange tingling all over his body, and the wave of emotion that had struck him when he was holding her had made him almost want to weep.

He absolutely _had_ to get out of there. He had to get away from her, so he could analyze his feelings and figure out what it all meant. All he knew was that he felt terribly sad and terribly confused.

Back at her table, Ginny tried not to look disappointed as she watched him walk away. Draco left the ball immediately, and a couple of minutes later, so did Ginny.

**X**

The next morning Ginny woke up to hear an insistent knocking at the door of her flat.

She had arrived home past midnight and had climbed into bed, craving sleep. Between remembering everything that had happened and analyzing why Draco had left the way he did, she found it was hard to sleep, however.

There was a tingling at the pit of her stomach, a flutter of electricity running up and down her body ever since her lips had met his that made it impossible for Ginny to remain still for long. Finally, exhausted, she had drifted off to sleep in the early hours of dawn.

Checking the watch on her night stand, Ginny saw that it was now 6:30 am.

" Aaaarrghh coming!" she called out, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

Wondering who could possibly be knocking at this ungodly hour, Ginny padded barefoot out of her room and walked along the corridor to the door, opening without pausing to ask who it was.

She had been rubbing her left eye, but her hand froze and her jaw dropped open when she saw Draco Malfoy standing there, in the same ceremonial robes he had been wearing the night before. The spikes of his mohawk had fallen, leaving his fair hair tousled about his head in elegant disarray, in sharp contrast with his dark clothes. In the light of morning Draco looked like a rebel angel that had survived the final battle against heaven.

"Hello," he said casually, taking her in with a swift glance of his silver eyes.

Ginny was dressed in a pair of black boxer briefs that were a little big on her and looked oddly familiar to Draco, like something he would wear. Her red hair, which was lying on her shoulders in beautiful disorder, stood out sharply against her plain white t-shirt. She was standing barefoot, and the cool morning air that caressed her bare, shapely legs had made goose bumps break out over her skin.

"Draco!" Ginny exclaimed, when she was finally able to speak. "Hi!"

"I was wondering…" he began, completely masking his nervousness despite the way his heart galloped in his chest, "If you'd like to have dinner with me tonight."

Ginny looked stunned for a moment, and then she gave him a smile that reminded Draco of the sun rising over the Quidditch pitch back at Hogwarts, when he would get up before dawn to practice.

A moment later however, her smile faltered.

"Oh Draco… I'm so sorry, but I really really CAN'T tonight!" Ginny was blushing several shades of red and looked sincerely remorseful. "How about tomorrow night?" she hastened to add.

"Busy tonight?" he inquired, his casual tone giving no hint of the panic that had paralyzed his gut.

"Well, yes," she admitted carefully. "I kind of have to meet Colin. You remember Colin, right?"

Draco's stared back at her calmly, not bothering to confirm or deny.

"Right," she said, quickly. "Um, Colin needed a date for the Photographer's Guild annual awards. He's nominated you know." Draco rolled his eyes around and she continued hurriedly. "Anyway, I said I'd go, and I just can't cancel on him last minute," Ginny finished, wishing for once that she didn't have the loyalty of a freaking Hufflepuff.

"Ah," Draco said softly.

"What about Katerina Lee?" Ginny heard her voice asking, and immediately wished to slap herself across the face.

She hadn't meant to ask, she really hadn't. But at the same time, she just _had_ to know.

"She seemed fine when I saw her this morning," Draco answered casually, taking in her disappointed look. He rolled his eyes again, and then smiled enigmatically. "When I saw her this morning by Floo."

Ginny raised her eyes up to his quickly. "Oh?" she said, not daring to sound hopeful.

"Yes," he said quietly, his gray eyes looking into hers steadily. "I told her to go back to Italy."

Ginny's heart fluttered in her throat and threatened to fly out of her mouth. "Oh," she squeaked/

"Yeah. So look, Ginny," Draco continued smoothly, and her heart gave a glorious leap in her chest; Draco hadn't used her nickname in four years.

He paused to glance at her bare feet, which were twisted inwardly in a sign of nervousness he found endearing. "If you can't go out tonight, how about a Quidditch match tomorrow?" he looked up and met her eyes again.

"You want to play Quidditch with me?" Ginny asked, sounding confused, but preparing to accept.

Whatever he wanted to do was fine! She was ready to accompany him to the dentist, if he asked her to.

"Um, no," Draco said, his lips twitching with the beginnings of a smile. "No, I have a box at the Quidditch stadium and there's big match tomorrow. You know, Falmouth Falcons vs. Chudley Cannons?"

"I'd love to go!" Ginny said quickly -too quickly- and for the first time Draco smiled, if only faintly.

"Good," he said, drawing out his wand. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have fun with your _date_…"

And with that he Disapparated silently, leaving Ginny at the door of her flat with a silly smile on her face that later turned into squealing, hysterical peals of laughter accompanied by jumping up and down, and later, tears of happiness.

**X**

* * *

**A/N**: Our story draws to its conclusion! Will Draco remember Ginny? Will Falmouth defeat the Cannons? Will Colin win an award? Will Draco wear a Mohawk again?? Stick around to find out, and be advised that in the next chapter the rating will be upped: M for sMut! :D

I know that this chapter is a little slow in comparison to the previous ones, but there's a reason for that: it's a transition chapter for what will happen in chapter 7, in my opinion, the best one yet.

**Don't forget to R-E-V-I-E-W….**


	7. D Is For DRAGON or Draco's Debacle!

A rather longuish chapter, the longest yet, but a fun one, and my personal favorite!

At least until chapter 8 comes out, heh heh. ;p

All Mohawks in this chapter dedicated to **Babiiee-Z**!

**Disclaimer:** "Oil and Water" by Incubus is not mine. Neither is "Making Plans For Nigel", by XTC.

* * *

**The World Inverted**

**Chapter Seven: "Draco's Debacle: In Which Things Are Almost Royally Screwed Up" **or** " 'D' Is For DRAGON. Again."**

_So when weakness turns my ego up  
I know you'll count on the me from yesterday._

_  
If I turn into another,  
dig me up from under what  
is covering  
the better part of me._

_  
Sing this song,  
remind me that we'll always have  
each other….  
When everything else is gone._

_  
Oh, each other,  
When everything else is gone  
Oh, each other…  
when everything else is gone._

--Incubus

**XXX**

Draco Malfoy sat in the West Wing's new and improved 'breakfast gazebo', as his mom and Ginny had taken to calling it. The once dreary space had been transformed into a cheerful solarium surrounded by flowers and the happy chirping of birds. Everywhere he looked Draco could see Ginny's subtle touch, her joyful -and, he had to admit, _tasteful_- style that lent an air of freshness to the once stuffy manor. At the thought of her Draco frowned and sat back in his comfortable, white upholstered chair.

From his wand, which was lying by his left hand on the mahogany surface of the well-laden breakfast table, came the mellow rock of Incubus playing a song he had found himself listening to over and over these last few days: 'Oil and Water'.

_You and I are…  
like oil and water  
And we've been trying,  
trying, trying….  
Ohh... to mix it up._

This simple song, full of powerful and melancholic meaning, reminded Draco strongly of Ginny. Lately, everything reminded him strongly of Ginny.

"The paper, Master Draco." Othello said politely, interrupting his train of thought as a rolled up newspaper floated up to the young Malfoy heir.

"Ah, thanks, man." Draco murmured, taking the paper from thin air. He didn't really care for the news, but Othello had been handing the masters of Malfoy manor the morning paper for hundreds of years and he didn't seem inclined to stop now.

As his long fingers closed over the paper, Draco was suddenly reminded of his father's morning ritual: wake up, coffee, paper, groom, Narcissa. Ever since he could remember, Lucius' morning activities had the same, unalterable order. Othello seemed to be expecting more of less the same from him. He was, after all, the master now.

Sighing, Draco unrolled the paper and was only half surprised to see his own face look back at him calmly from the front page.

'**WAR HERO RECEIVES HIGHEST HONOR.'**

The article went on to praise the Malfoy heir for leading his millenarian clan into a new age of prosperity and social favor, analyzing the significance and repercussions of this event in wizarding society. The reporter also commented on the ceremony and the after party, which was described as a lively, elegant affair.

Skimming the article quickly, Draco nearly chocked on his coffee when he read the aptly named 'Gossip's Corner' at the left end corner of the page.

"**MOST SOUGHT AFTER BACHELOR SNAGGED BY A WEASLEY!"**

The column title proclaimed, featuring a picture of Draco dancing with Ginny cheek to cheek.

Pausing to observe their dancing figures, he had to admit they looked great together. Ginny was sparkling with beauty, and he looked…well, enrapt. A faint smile of remembrance graced Draco's delicate features as he relived that night, that dance, while the music that poured from his wand reached its climax.

_Let's just call it…  
call it, call it  
…what it is._

Ginny had felt so right in his arms, and ever since that moment he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. But Draco was so confused, so very confused by what he felt when he thought about her, and what he felt in her presence: that vague feeling of unease, that lingering headache.

And then there was the fact that she kept throwing mixed signals at him. Her aloofness, bordering on indifference, and then that look in her eyes, when she glanced at him sometimes. That look of painful longing.

Draco had come to the conclusion that when they had been friends at Hogwarts Ginny had been hopelessly in love with him. But what about now? How did she feel about him? She was attracted to him, that much was obvious.

But did she feel the same way as he did? Did the thought of him make her feel as if she were flying on a defective broom that might spiral down to earth at any moment, sending her towards certain death at millions of miles a minute?

Not the most romantic of thoughts, but it was true. Draco felt an overwhelming rush of emotions, an intense thrill when he thought of Ginny, combined with an odd sort of helplessness. He realized, holding the steaming coffee cup halfway to his lips, the thing that had been eluding him during the last couple of weeks. The thing that made him flee from the banquet after dancing with her, after that kiss, that made him walk around aimlessly all night, thinking of her.

He was very much in love with Ginevra Weasley, and it scared the hell out of him.

**XXX**

Draco picked up Ginny later that day for their Quidditch date, jumping out of the carriage to help her in. He was dressed in the same style as their first date: a pair of black trousers, a black t-shirt, converse sneakers and a short, fitted black blazer with three silver buttons running down the front. His silvery blond hair was once again done in a Mohawk, to Ginny's delight. She took in the way the pale spikes glinted white in the sun, the way his mercury eyes flicked over her and her heart soared with love and happiness. Standing there with his arms folded across his chest, waiting for her, Draco looked absolutely gorgeous, but there was nothing new to that.

He raised his eyebrows when he saw her dressed in formfitting jeans that hugged her now more voluptuous curves, and a white long-sleeved top under a small, -brand new- black Chudley Cannons t-shirt. With her flaming red hair falling over her shoulders, in sharp contrast with the black and white of her garb, Ginny looked incredibly sexy. Draco felt a sudden urge to run up to her and wrap his arms around her. Instead he held his ground, waiting for her to walk up to him.

"A Cannons girl?" he said, eying her darkly. "If I would have known this, I wouldn't have invited you."

"Don't tell me you're for Foulmouth…." Ginny said, sounding surprised. "Wow, you suck."

Draco laughed, choosing not to mention the fact that Malfoy Holdings owned the majority of the Foulmouth Falcons franchise. "Whatever." he said, smirking.

If Ginny was greatly disappointed -which in fact she was- at Draco's less than amorous greeting, she didn't show it. She'd had a great deal of practice at more or less concealing her feelings from him by now.

Still, she silently mourned this exchange. Her Draco would have said the same thing, but would have countered the bite of his banter with a kiss or a sweet gesture of endearment.

Once in the carriage Ginny relaxed into the comfortable leather seating, looking out the window at the people passing by and trying not to feel disenchanted. She'd had such high expectations at seeing Draco again, and he was acting as if nothing special had happened between them. For a moment it was almost enough to make her want to cry, but she firmly brushed the swirl of feelings away.

Suddenly Ginny felt Draco's piercing gaze on her and turned to look at him.

"What?"

"Did your date win any prizes?" Draco inquired softly, and Ginny could hear the mockery in his voice even though she couldn't see it on his carefully expressionless face.

"_Prizes_?" Ginny shot back, raising an eyebrow. "You make it sound like it was a dog-show or a talent competition. It was a very prestigious awards ceremony, I'll have you know."

"Sure it was." Draco replied, sounding bored, but his grey eyes were sparkling with malice and amusement. "You're not answering my question."

"No, he did _not_ win." Ginny huffed, "Colin always wins photographer of the year…." she said, looking morose. "He seemed to think…." Ginny trailed off and Draco actually leaned towards her slightly with amused expectancy. "He seemed to think it was _my_ fault. Like I brought him bad luck or something…."

Draco snorted and then burst out laughing. "_What_ a dufus!" he proclaimed, throwing his head back and laughing. Ginny stared at him in amazement, because it had been years, literally, _years_, since she'd seen him laugh like that. Her stomach did a joyous little back flip, but she ignored it.

"_Dra-co _!" she protested hotly, simultaneously making note of how absolutely gorgeous he was. "How many times do I have to tell you? Colin is my friend."

"Not for long he won't be, you little jinx, you!" Draco declared and laughed again, shaking his head slightly. The spikes of his Mohawk flared as if he really were a dragon. "What a _wanker_." he added incredulously, with a wide -and evil- grin.

Ginny glared at him, irked. "How mature," she muttered.

Draco could be such a jerk sometimes. If he liked you he could be anything from kind and generous to utterly indifferent, but if you were in his black list, you might as well drop dead. The red headed girl folded her arms and looked out the window crossly.

The truth was she'd been so upset with herself -and with Colin- for having to go to that stupid award ceremony instead of dinner with Draco that she was starting to think she really _had_ jinxed her friend, and was feeling guilty about the whole thing.

A few minutes later she could still hear the blond snickering quietly beside her. Ginny turned to glare at him again, this time drawing her wand mechanically. The perfect wrist movement that made her famously great at charms in Hogwarts served her now as she flicked her wand at Draco's flaxen hair. She smirked when she saw the platinum blond spikes of his Mohawk fall limply around his beautiful face.

Draco raised his eyebrows and resisted the urge to pat his head awkwardly. "Kiki, did you see that? Did you see what she just did?" he exclaimed, turning to the house elf at the front of the carriage in mock indignation. "The Queen of Maturity here just attacked my hair!"

Ginny glared at Kiki accusingly; the house elf looked nervously from her to Draco out of the corner of his eye and made no comment.

"You could get lynched for that, _your majesty_," he informed her haughtily, "you're lucky my fan-girls weren't around."

Ginny scowled. She had forgotten how incredibly annoying Draco could be when he put his mind to it. He could almost surpass the combined efforts of Fred and George. Almost.

In spite being genuinely irked by him, Ginny couldn't help feeling pleased that Draco was making fun of her without being insulting or cruel. Except about poor Colin….

But anyway, the fact remained Draco was treating her more like a girl-cousin than a date. He'd always been more or less playful, but then he would snog her senseless, too. No sign of that now….

_Merlin, what's he going to do next? Pull my hair and say I have cooties?_

Once they arrived at the stadium Ginny was initially surprised at the amount of people that were there, but later remembered that today's match was the semi-final for the Quidditch League Cup. The team who won today would advance to the final against Puddlemere United and thousands of people had gathered to cheer on their favorite teams.

Draco seemed to be in high spirits and walked ahead of her through the throng of people, grabbing her hand so that they wouldn't get separated as they walked to his box. Ginny felt a sharp thrill go through her spine when she felt his thin fingers twine around hers, as they had thousands of times in a previous lifetime.

Draco walked with his usual confidence, as if he owned the place, and the crowd seemed to actually part for the strikingly beautiful blond as he walked through, holding hands with the redheaded girl. People's eyes followed them as they walked by, and here and there cries of "It's Draco Malfoy!" could be heard.

They rode the private lift that would take them up to the sky box in silence, both staring out the glass walls of the elevator, lost in their own thoughts.

When they got to the Malfoy box, Ginny was surprised at the luxury she encountered, but not for long. After seeing the manor in its entirety, (with the exception of Draco and Narcissa's private quarters, which for some reason both had decided would remain unaltered) Ginny knew that if anything was true about the Malfoys, it was that they liked their luxury.

The box was located in a prominent part of the stadium, giving a bird's eye view of the air arena. It was covered by a large white tent that reminded Ginny of the engravings she had seen of the Cesar's tribune at the Roman coliseum. Large enough to fit at least 8 of the blue plastic seats that regular Quidditch fans sat on, the box had only two large, impossibly comfortable looking leather recliners, separated by a table on which was a bottle of champagne, cooling in anticipation of victory. There was also an elegant mini-bar by the entrance, stocked with all manner of liquors and snacks.

As soon as the couple walked in, an efficient house elf who introduced himself as Boo-Boo apparated in front of Draco with a loud crackle.

"Master, glad to see you back," he said, handing the young Malfoy two menus. "We will have the club prepare lunch for you, or drinks."

Draco turned to Ginny inquiringly and she shook her head, sinking into the leather comforter. "We won't be needing food for now, Boo-Boo, thank you," he said, and Ginny found herself admiring his impeccable manners for the hundredth time since she'd known him. "I'll have a beer, and then you can go."

The house elf reached into the mini-bar and drew out a chilled bottle of _Two Quills_ lager, opened it and presented it to Draco on a silver tray along with a beer mug. "Call if master need anything," the house elf murmured, disapparating swiftly.

Draco settled in next to Ginny, taking a drink of the chilled beer straight from the bottle. "It's good," he murmured, holding the bottle out to her. She accepted and took a gulp, only to be able to put her lips where his had been a second earlier.

_Ginny, you're pathetic!_ she berated herself, as the too-cold beer burned down her throat.

Soon the match began, to the thundering cheer of thousands of fans. The two teams met on the pitch, and Draco handed Ginny a pair of silver binoculars so that she could see them more clearly. Their fingers brushed and Ginny found herself suppressing a shiver.

She was beginning to grow more and more exasperated with Draco. Other than the fact that he had utterly ridiculed her friend, Draco was being attentive and polite, but there was a distance about him that she found hurtful. After all they'd been through in the past months, after that magical dance at the ministry, where he had _kissed_ her, after showing up at her house looking like he'd flown down from heaven on his own wings, that he would be _polite_ now was enough to almost bring her to tears.

The two teams took to the air and the game progressed with all the excitement of a semi-final Quidditch match. Draco jumped up to his feet to shout or curse at the players on a number of occasions, and would glare at Ginny whenever she cheered the Cannons.

At some point a young girl selling team flags called to them to ask if they'd like to buy anything.

"Yes," Draco said quickly, reaching for his wallet. "Two for the Falcons, please."

"And one for the Cannons," Ginny interjected quickly.

"Ok, one Falcons, one Cannons," Draco amended, rolling his eyes.

He handed Ginny the orange flag with a flourish and sat down at his recliner.

Ginny, who was standing by the rail, turned her attention to the match, but she could feel Draco's eyes on her behind. _That wanker! _she thought angrily. _Why doesn't he DO anything??_

Finally when she was about to explode with anger, two amazing things happened: the Canons made a spectacular comeback and Draco grabbed Ginny by the hips and put her on his lap. In that moment is seemed to Ginny that time had stopped and things were occurring simultaneously; in reality what happened was this:

Marcus Henderson, star Chaser for the Cannons, dodged two bludgers, did a spectacular maneuver around the hoop, distracting the Falcon's Keeper, and scored 20 much needed points for the black and orange team.

Draco watched as Ginny waved her flag frantically, whistling and cheering along with thousands of other Cannons fans, her lovely red hair waving at her back like an extra banner. Quite suddenly he grabbed her by the hips firmly and brought her down onto his lap.

"That's enough out of you," he murmured in a voice that could melt steel, taking the flag from her unresisting hands.

Ginny was perfectly still, looking at him with wide, shocked eyes. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, the match completely forgotten as Draco's stunning gray eyes met hers evenly, his lovely face barely inches away.

"Draco," she whispered softly, her warm breath brushing his face. He shivered delicately, enjoying the weight of her warm body on his lap, where some distracting changes were happening.

"Ginny," Draco answered in the same tone, one hand on her hip as his lips pressed against the corner of her bumble-bee kissed mouth. She relaxed slightly against him as his hand caressed her outer thigh and then continued upwards along the side of her body.

"What are we doing?" Ginny breathed, her lips pressed to his skin in turn. Draco was silent for a moment, his lips inching closer to hers as his hand caressed the back of her neck. He heard her make a whimpering sort of sound and knew Ginny didn't realize she was making it.

His heart was pounding loudly in his ears, and he feared she might hear it. Ginny's hands were on his shoulders now, and her slight shift of position on his lap caused him to have to hold back a shameless moan. He breathed deeply, trying to relax, and looked back at her.

"We're watching Quidditch, Ginevra," Draco stated calmly, and for some reason this was entirely the wrong thing to say. Ginny drew away to look at him with furious, blazing eyes and then jumped to her feet.

Draco looked up at her levelly, seemingly unperturbed by her actions, but inside he was seething.

"_Why is she such a tease!"_ he thought angrily.

"_He thinks I'm some play-thing he can lead on!"_ Ginny thought furiously.

She said nothing and brushed the front of her jeans, as if to smooth them, under Draco's icy glare. A moment later she turned away from him and sat on her own chair, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

They watched the match in silence until it ended, fifteen minutes later, with a victory to the Falcons. Draco and Ginny filed out of the box, the champagne left unopened, and rode the elevator down in silence. They would have walked to the parking lot in silence if it hadn't been for the cheerful call of "Eh! bambino!" that met them on their way out.

Recognizing the voice, Draco turned to meet the speaker; an extremely handsome young wizard whose clothes, bearing, and easy charm were very similar to Draco's when he was in a good mood. His black hair was cropped shorter then the blonde's, but he had a very similar build and the same aristocratic mannerisms of the typical upper class wizard.

"Ah, Nigel!" Draco answered, shaking the young man's hand and looking genuinely pleased. "Good to see you mate."

"Il dragone!" Nigel exclaimed, grinning and shaking Draco's hand effusively. "Congratulations, man, I heard all about The Order of Merlin! Don't be getting any designs on _Sexiest Young Heir_, though," he added, pointing at Draco in mock warning, and Ginny noticed an emerald stud twinkling in the helix of his left ear. "I have that one in the bag."

The handsome wizard did a double take when his eyes fell on the redhead standing behind Draco. "Hello," he said, giving her a sparkling smile as his blue eyes took her in swiftly. "Nigel Burberry, nice to meet you."

"Oh?" Ginny said, shaking his hand. "Of Burberry Limited?"

"Yes, the fashion moguls," he sighed, sounding weary, then flashed her another shiny, pearly white smile. "That's me. And you are…?"

"Ginevra Weasley," she said, smiling politely. She knew Draco's pewter colored eyes were fixed intently on her, but pretended not to notice.

"Gin-ev-ra," Nigel said softly, as if savoring the name, with a coquettish sort of smile. "Pleasure to meet you. Hogwarts, right?"

"Yes," she answered, looking at him curiously. The handsome, young wizard looked their age, but she had never seen him before. "What about you?"

"Oh, around, you know. Salem, Radagast, Forbidden City…." his tone was casual, but there was a hungry sort of light in his eyes as he looked at Ginny that neither she nor Draco missed catching. "Ended up at Durmstrang. I was a bit of a trouble maker…."

"So Nigel, how's that girlfriend of yours?" Draco interjected casually, looking completely at ease with himself though at the moment he wanted nothing more than to pummel the other wizard for his obvious ogling of Ginny.

"Emmeline?" Nigel answered tightly. "Oh, we broke up," his handsome face displayed a quick grimace. "We were together for so long… people just _change_ you know? It was like we were strangers at the end of it."

Draco observed Ginny covertly as she seemed to be pondering these words, and Nigel's attention also seemed to be entirely on the beautiful red-haired witch. "Are you and Draco…?"

"Quidditch fans? Yes, yes we are," she cut in quickly. Both she and Nigel missed Draco's delicate flinch at these words.

"Ah, wonderful!" the black haired wizard said, his smile now decidedly predatory as his fingers fished inside of the front pocket of his shirt.

"I'm dying for a cigarette!" he exclaimed, still looking at Ginny. "Stupid new law that you can't smoke inside the stadium… I tell you, that Crinkle character has got some weird ideas…no offense mate." he said quickly, winking at Draco. "I know you two are _tight_ by now…"

Draco scoffed, but said nothing. Nigel drew out a cigarette, and was about to light it when he paused to look at Ginny. He offered it to her with raised eyebrows and an easy smile.

"Oh. No, no I don't smoke," she said, smiling back.

"Oh!" Nigel said quickly. "Well in that case, I'd hate to bother you-"

"No, please, it's not a problem!" Ginny answered.

"No, really," Nigel replied, "I can wait…"

"Not on my account, please."

"It's no trouble, really."

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Draco cut in sharply, snatching the cigarette from Nigel's hand brusquely. With his customary, casual elegance, he put the cigarette between his sensuous lips, at the corner of his mouth, and lit it with the tip of his wand.

His exquisite face was expressionless as he took a long, deep drag, but his stormy gray eyes had never left Ginny's face.

She detested smoking, and as far as she knew, Draco did too. He seemed to be making some sort of point, and was definitely succeeding. Draco could have been the star of a cigarette commercial; Ginny blushed as he blew the smoke out to the side, squinting his eyes briefly as he took another, shorter drag. He handed the cigarette back to Nigel, who accepted it without comment. By now he was somewhat used to Draco's caustic arrogance. All of his so called friends were, really.

"Well, Nigel, darling," Draco said, blowing smoke, his tone slightly bored. "Ms. Weasley and I must be off."

"Of course," Nigel said, his eyes on Ginny. "Listen, it was a pleasure to meet you… I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Likewise," Ginny said, smiling back. Nigel bowed slightly and then winked as he brought the cigarette to his lips.

"Take care, man," he said, turning to Draco, balancing the cigarette between his lips as he shook the other wizard's hand, then taking it between his thumb and his index finger.

Draco nodded once at his friend, his hair shinning white in the sunlight as he walked away, not bothering to glance at Ginny. A moment later he heard her heels click rhythmically against the pavement as she followed after him towards the valet parking.

He didn't slow down for her to catch up and began humming softly, something that sounded suspiciously like _"Making Plans For Nigel"_, completely ignoring the fiery haired girl until the carriage arrived.

He helped Ginny up again, and she scooted towards the opposite window, making room for him. Instead of climbing in after her, however, Draco turned to the house elf at the front of the carriage. "Take Ms. Weasley where ever she instructs you to. I'm apparating home."

And a second later he vanished, without so much as a pop.

Ginny stared incredulously at the place where he'd been standing and then stepped out of the carriage angrily, slamming the door shut and then wincing.

"I'm sorry Kiki!" she called out to the house elf, and walked away from the carriage. She stood there in the parking lot for a moment, uncertain of where to go next, then turned around sharply when a familiar voice called out her name.

"Hey, Ginevra!" Nigel drawled. "Need a ride?" he was perched on a shiny black motorcycle, looking decidedly seductive despite the cloud of smoke that surrounded him.

"No thanks, Nigel. I've got, uh... _plans_…" Ginny said, taking a few steps back and laughing in spite of herself at Draco's brand of humor. Waving at the dark haired wizard, she quickly disapparated.

**XXX**

She went to Flourish and Blotts and walked around the bookshelves, stopping at the place where she had first seen Draco. It seemed to her like it was ages ago, and in a way, she felt they had progressed very little from square one. Wiping away at her sudden tears, Ginny stalked out of the shop, angry and hurt.

After some ambling around stores dejectedly and stopping at a café to have a quick lunch, Ginny decided to go home.

When she apparated into her living room she was greeted with the sight of Draco Malfoy comfortably seated at her horrible mauve couch. He had taken off his blazer and had draped it on the arm of the couch, and was currently wearing his black t-shirt over the band of his jeans, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles.

Draco looked good in practically anything, but black was definitely his color. It contrasted beautifully with his pale hair and skin, making him look devastatingly seductive, even more so than usual.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked sharply, with surprise and some anger at seeing him looking so at ease. In spite of herself her heart had started to race as soon as she'd laid eyes on him.

"I came to see you," Draco said quietly, rising to his feet, and the note in his voice gave her pause. "I have to talk to you about something," he said gravely, his pale eyes meeting hers. She folded her arms across her chest and observed him in stony silence.

Ginny seemed to have reached the limit of her endurance. She had spent the past months chasing after Draco, swallowing his insults and indifference in silence, trying to get close to him, and just when it seemed like she had made a break-through, he was drawing away. Ginny found she was feeling like a doormat, and despite all the love she felt for him, she was starting to resent Draco's total lack of feelings for her. She felt she was being toyed with, and discovered she was starting to get tired.

"Well?" she demanded, glaring at him.

Draco was standing in front of her, looking at her with an expression she couldn't decipher. He suddenly looked angry, frustrated and something else.

_Could it be true that you don't feel anything, anything at all for me? _he was thinking desperately, looking into Ginny's unwavering, hard amber eyes. _And when we kissed at the dance, was that nothing to you?_

Suddenly Draco grabbed her by the shoulders and brought his mouth roughly down on hers. Ginny was too startled to react at first, and for a split second was tempted to kiss back. His lips were so very very soft….

But after a moment she regained enough presence of mind to push him away.

"What are you doing to me, Draco?" she demanded desperately, breaking away from him. Shivers had broken through her body and her heart was thundering in her chest. Looking at him furiously she said a single word, "Why?"

Draco looked at Ginny with disbelief clearly written on his beautiful face, then turned away from her, his hands contracted into fists. He was livid, but there were two spots of angry red burning in his perfect, high cheekbones. His stormy gray eyes, dark and intense, seemed to sparkle with rage. Once that practiced Malfoy stoicism was gone, it was hell to pay, she knew.

"I don't understand you, Ginevra!" Draco spat at her furiously. She had only seen him this angry once before, when he thought she was dating Harry Potter. "Why do you keep pushing me away? You keep leading me on, and then you just push me away, how can you play me like this?" he demanded angrily. "Do you _enjoy_ hurting me?"

Ginny stared at him in stunned silence, her arms dropping limply to the sides of her body, her heart beating almost painfully fast in her chest. What was he saying? She didn't dare hope, she could not allow herself to...

"I'm so confused, I feel so fucking _stupid_," Draco shouted. He so seldom did, that Ginny found herself flinching. "I've been chasing after you like some sort of clown, so you can laugh at me, is that it?"

He paced the room like a caged lion as she observed him, dawning and disbelief playing across her features. Draco was running his hand through his hair as he did when he was nervous or extremely upset, and Ginny felt like rushing to him and comforting him, but something made her stay rooted to where she stood.

"Ever since I woke up from that stupid coma I feel like the biggest fucking idiot in the world." There was an unmistakable hint of pain in his voice as he went on, turning to look at her with a hurt, angry look in his intense eyes. "By Merlin, sometimes I wish I wouldn't have woken up at all…"

These last words hit Ginny with all the force of a tidal wave. She staggered as if Draco had actually hit her. And it was then that Ginny flew at him, her eyes flashing with rage. Draco looked too shocked to react as she flung herself at him, her face burning with fury, her voice quivering with the emotion she had tried so hard to suppress.

"DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING SAY THAT AGAIN!" she screamed at him, swinging her small fists into his chest angrily. Draco held up his hands to defend himself from her wild blows, confusion evident in his face.

"Don't you ever _dare_ speak like that again, you selfish BASTARD!" she cried, still beating at him until he caught her fists in his hands. "If you'd never woken up… If you'd died…" she said, sounding horrified and so vulnerable for a moment that his heart went out to her. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she brushed him away.

"If you'd died," Ginny continued, angry again -she seemed to be on some insane roller-coaster of suppressed feeling- "You'd be fine. But what about ME? What about me? What would _I_ do without you?" she cried with a trembling voice, her chest heaving with effort and emotion as her eyes burned with tears.

Draco stared at her, dumb with shock and understanding. His heart was pounding like the surf, in his chest and in his ears, deafening him. "So you love me?" he said softly, shaken to the core. It wasn't a question as much as the realization of some profound truth. And all of a sudden, everything made sense. "We weren't friends… back at Hogwarts. We weren't just friends, and you… you _love_ me," he whispered, more to himself than to her.

Ginny looked at him incredulously for a moment, and he saw bitter tears of pain running down her cheeks, unchecked. "Of _course_ I love you, you stupid, _stupid_ wanker!" she said through her tears, her voice choked with emotion, finally shouting at him what she'd kept so carefully hidden all this time. "I've never stopped loving you, I couldn't any more than I could decide to stop breathing."

Draco had let go of her now, his thin fingers merely touching the skin of her slender wrists, tracing the thin white scars he had never noticed were there before, and this along with her words had touched him so deeply he felt as if he'd been physically cut. He looked up at her through wide, silver eyes.

"Can't you see…can't you see that to me you're _everything_?" she continued softly, and his heart broke in his chest at the thought of everything she'd had to suffer on his account.

Ginny was weeping quietly now, grabbing the front of his black shirt with both hands, her face hidden in his chest, resting against the steady drum of his heart, but he could make out every word.

"Can't you see that I've spent _every_ minute of _every_ day waiting for you these past four years? And when they told me you were _dead_… when they told me…"

Ginny couldn't finish speaking; the tightness in her chest was too great now, her throat constricting painfully with emotion. Draco held her in his arms as she wept, and she held him tightly, desperately, her fingers digging into his arms so that during the following days he would walk around with the imprints of her nails on his skin.

Quite suddenly Draco saw the image of her, crumpled on her knees, howling with pain when she'd heard of his death as clearly as if he'd been there. The thought of her suffering like this, and hurting herself because of him made Draco's chest contract with pain and his eyes sting with tears.

He took her face in his hands and held it up so he could look at her. Ginny's face was splotchy, wet with tears, and her eyes puffy and red, but she had never looked so beautiful to him.

"Ginny," Draco said, his own voice cracking with emotion as he beheld her tear-stricken face. "I have to tell you… I have to tell you that I love you," he whispered this last part so helplessly that she broke out into fresh tears. He held her in his arms, her body soft and pliant now. When he brought his lips down on hers he could taste the sweetness of her, and the salt of her grief on her soft, plump lips.

"I've loved you for a while, but I guess I didn't want to see it…" he murmured softly against her skin. "I was so confused and thought you… I thought you didn't have any feelings for me."

"Draco!" she cried, breaking away from him.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment, and Ginny took in the way his beautiful eyes were gleaming softly with tears, the look of silent adoration in those silver depths, and she flung herself at him again, kissing him desperately; kissing his face, his eyes, his lips, hugging him as if she feared someone would come to take him away from her again.

Draco held her as she kissed him, parting his lips to allow her tongue passage into his mouth. He grabbed her hips firmly and pressed her against him, kissing her back with all the love and passion he felt for her. He realized then he'd give anything, everything he had and more to remember her, to remember their past together, but he could not.

The first time they made love after four years was not gentle, nor was it sweet. There was just too much contained emotion involved on both sides, and there was a bitter, desperate quality to everything. Ginny tore his shirt off him, her hands running over Draco's soft, pale skin frantically as she kissed him, her tears falling on his face gently. He drove his tongue into her mouth and moaned when she raised her hips to his, rubbing against his erection.

"Draco!" Ginny moaned desperately, her trembling hands trying to undo the front of his jeans. "Please..."

Draco's fingers found the catch of his pants, and she didn't even give him time kick them off. She clenched her hands into fists in Draco's hair as he entered her roughly, the pain of her inner walls stretched for the first time in fours years drawing a gasp from her parted lips. But Ginny wrapped her thighs around Draco, locking her ankles behind his narrow waist as her nails dug into his back, trying to draw him deeper in her. The pain didn't matter...

They had fallen on her couch, which was barely big enough to accommodate one stretched out body, and creaked loudly with every powerful, desperate thrust of his hips against hers. It was over quickly, with Ginny weeping softly against Draco's shoulder. He collapsed against her with a small whimper, her name on his lips like a desperate prayer. Draco buried his flushed face in her still clothed breasts as he tried to still the wild beating of his heart, breathing heavily against her.

Still weak and trembling from his brutal climax, Draco had carried her half clothed body to the bedroom. He had laid her on the bed, removing the rest of her garments reverently, kissing her tender skin and murmuring that he loved her, and he would never let her go.

When he removed Ginny's shirt, he was surprised to find a small golden D catching the wan light of the afternoon sun, flashing against her skin. The phrase _"D is for Dragon _", spoken laughingly in a time where things were so much simpler, swept through his mind like a harsh cold breeze. He tried to grasp at that memory blindly, but it seemed to slip in between his fingers, like sand.

Ginny slept with the exhaustion of an emotional and spiritual catharsis the likes of which she'd never had before, not even after her harrowing experience with Tom Riddle. She slept and Draco watched over her, caressing her face, kissing her brow and holding her in his arms.

She opened her eyes some time later, her head pounding and fuzzy as usually happened when she cried. Relief flooded her when she saw that this was real. For one terrifying, painful moment Ginny thought she'd dreamed everything and would wake up without him.

But Draco was there, with his strong, beautiful arms wrapped around her, breathing deeply and peacefully. Ginny enjoyed the warmth of his skin, the scent of him, and kissed his hard, toned chest gently. She saw the scar of the Dark Mark that marred the otherwise perfect skin of his forearm and kissed it, too, then trailed kisses along his neck and his jaw. Quite suddenly Draco was awake and looking at her, his mercury eyes slightly out of focus at first, and then clear and unblinking.

Ginny kissed his beautiful lips softly, enjoying the feel of his mouth against hers as his hands trailed the curve of her bare back. Now completely awake Draco sat up, propped on his elbow, his fair hair in disarray from where she'd run her fingers through it desperately.

Draco observed her in silence now as she kissed his fingers and the palm of his hand, his eyes glazing over with tears at the thought of what would have happened if she hadn't gone after him, if she hadn't made him fall in love with her again.

Taking Ginny's lovely face in his hands, Draco kissed her softly, deeply, as his lower body began to prickle with desire once again. He broke away from her and began trailing kisses down her bare midriff, her skin trembling gently under his touch.

They explored each other's bodies slowly, this time, sweetly.Ginny wound her hands in his soft, fine hair again, not wanting to close her eyes so she could memorize the look of total concentration in Draco's beautiful face as he joined with her, their hips meeting and rocking together in a rhythm old as time.

"Oh, Ginny..." he said softly, raising his eyes to meet hers. The look in his silver grey eyes made Ginny want to cry, because she'd thought she'd never see it again. She brought his face down to hers and kissed him, moaning into his mouth as the aching between her legs became more urgent. He began to pump into her harder until she was screaming his name, and it wasn't until Ginny's second climax ripped through them both that Draco allowed himself to come undone in her arms.

"Draco, I love you," she whispered softly against his ear, her body still rippling with aftershocks some time later. His face was buried in her neck and she could feel something hot and wet against her skin. It took her a moment to register that he was weeping softly.

Draco felt Ginny's fingers through his hair as his tears slid across her skin. _If only I could remember…._he thought miserably, closing his eyes and breathing her deeply.

**XXX**

* * *

What? What's that you say? You LOVE me?? Really? Prove it! You don't have to do anything undignified or even kinky...just click on that funky little 'go' button, yeah, the purple one, and REVIEW. ;P

FINAL chapter next! What will happen?? The suspense is killing ME! Heh heh.

To all who reviewed, thanks so so much! I LOVE your reviews, I love that you take the time to tell me that you think this fic is cool. And on that note, **PLEASE REVIEW again! :) **

**(that includes YOU! Thanks for adding this to your favorites and alerts, but reviews are nice, too...hint, hint.)**

* * *

**Important Info:** The third and final chapter of** "Cruel"** is now up. If you haven't read it, do so now! It's one of my favorite fics that I've written.

Also, I've issued a writing challenge for all you fanfic writers in need of a plot. It's called...** "The Ginny Draws Draco Challenge"**. For more details visit my profile and scroll to the bottom! :)


	8. The Boy Who Fainted, FINAL CHAPTER

**Important Notes:**

**SHAMELESS PLUG MOMENT! **Mwa ha ha ha:

-I have a new D/G fic up! It's called "**Il Dragone**" and it's different,and very cool. It features Sexy!Draco, and Irreverent!Ginny-with-a-backbone! Weird, huh? lol. It's more lighthearted, less melodramatic than my previous stuff. If you decide to read it, drop me a line, (always wanted to say that!), and lemme know what you think!

-This is it, the end, you guys! I'm sad it's over, but I'm confident it's an ending that does the story justice, (but if you disagree, you're welcome to tell me so).

In this entire chapter I live vicariously through Ginny. You'll see what I mean soon. ;p

Random soundtrack stuff: (you know how I am about that, so bear with me!)

When you get to the **"Nessum Dorma"** part in this chapter, you tube it!! Trust me. Pavarotti does it best, but Andrea Bocelli is also nice ; )  
**"Flight Over Africa"**, composed by musical genius John Barry, is the song featured in the movie "Out of Africa" with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, in that amazing scene where they fly in the small red plane.

There are two songs that describe my version of Draco and Gin's story perfectly, from _Ginny the Dragon Slayer_ to the end of _The World Inverted_. **"We're In This Together"** by NIN is one, the other is** "Stand Inside Your Love"** by The Smashing Pumpkins.

**DISCLAIMER:** Neither of the songs mentioned in this chapter belong to me; verses by Carducci belong to him. I couldn't write poetry if my life depended on it.

And now, without further ado, here is the happy ending I promised:

* * *

**The World Inverted**

**Chapter Eight: "In Which Shadows Are Really the Body" **or **"The Boy Who Fainted"**

_Awake to the sound as they peel apart the skin.  
They pick and they pull,  
trying to get their fingers in.  
Well they've got to kill what we've found,  
well they've got to hate what they fear,  
well they've got to make it go away,  
well they've got to make it disappear._

_  
As lost as I get I will find you.  
The deeper the wound I'm inside you.  
For ever and ever I'm a part of_

_You and me,  
we're in this together now.  
None of them can stop us now,  
we will make it through somehow._

_  
You and me,  
if the world should break in two,  
until the very end of me,  
until the very end of you._

_All that we were is gone, we have to hold on.  
When all our hope is gone, we have to hold on.  
All that we were is gone but we can hold on._

_You and me,  
Even after everything.  
You're the queen and I'm the king.  
Nothing else means anything…_

--"We're In This Together Now"  
by Nine Inch Nails

**X**

"Draco, if you're hungry, let me make you something. A sandwich, or maybe pancakes…."

"…Fine."

"Okay… So, I have to get up to do that."

"Mmrrrfff."

"Draco, sweetie…"

"I don't want to _move_..."

Ginny twisted around to look at the blond, an amused expression on her face. Draco hadn't opened his eyes yet, and a lock of silvery blond hair was falling across his face.

He had wrapped himself around her, like he usually did in his sleep, and snuggled in his arms, under the warmth of the covers, Ginny had to admit she didn't really feel like moving either.

"I can hear your stomach grumbling," she giggled, a moment later.

It was well past noon. Draco had stirred and announced -to no one in particular- that he was hungry, and Ginny, by now attuned to him entirely, had woken up as well.

She continued to gaze into his beautiful face with a loving expression, thanking the powers that be for the millionth time that she could be with him like this.

"Ginny, you're starting to remind me of Othello," Draco murmured, still not opening his eyes, and Ginny burst out laughing.

When Draco was little he would often have horrible nightmares, and Narcissa had instructed Othello to watch over him during the night and inform her if he needed anything. The image of the old Malfoy Manor ghost floating above him, gazing at him expressionlessly, was engraved in Draco's mind to the point where he still sometimes woke and expected to find him there.

"You don't believe me when I tell you Othello is unhinged," Draco had told Ginny. "He really _is_ always watching."

"Maybe he's in love with you too," Ginny had replied, laughing.

"I hope for your sake Othello doesn't have the same naughty thoughts _I_ do when I'm watching you," she told Draco now.

"Ginny_- ewwww_," Draco said laughingly, his eyes still closed. "I may never have another erection again, thanks to that comment."

"Really?" Ginny countered, her low, throaty voice making his eyes instantly flip open; that, and the way her hand slid down his toned chest just before slipping under the sheet.

Draco bit at his bottom lip as she trailed kisses along his jaw line, her hand wrapping around his erect member.

"On second thought…" he murmured, now fully awake.

The raw lust that glinted in his silver eyes made Ginny tremble as she watched him sit up, his fair hair in beautiful disarray. In one swift, graceful movement Draco slipped out from under her and pinned her down, attacking her with a rain of kisses.

Ginny giggled under him, enjoying the feel of his naked body stretched out on top of hers, squealing when his fingers began to tickle her inner thigh.

Her squeal turned into a breathless moan when Draco's hand continued upwards, until it reached the place where she was already throbbing in anticipation. Ginny's hands snaked up his back and through his silky hair as she kissed the hollow of his neck, suckling gently and allowing her teeth to graze his skin before sliding her tongue into his ear.

Satisfaction hummed through her blood when she heard his sharp intake of breath. Unlike her, Draco was not a very vocal lover; Ginny knew that if he made a sound at all, it was because he couldn't hold it back. The thought that she could make him lose even a small amount of that renowned self-control of his filled her with a sense of power that heightened her own arousal.

Grabbing him by the back of the neck, Ginny brought his mouth down on hers for a deep, drugging kiss; he tasted like vodka and Draco- yesterday's late night activities had resulted in one less bottle of vodka in Ginny's kitchen cupboard.

Draco tugged at her plump bottom lip with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth before kissing her deeply, his tongue dancing around hers as his hands traced the bare curves of her body.

"I love how you feel under my hands," he whispered, holding back a groan as her nails raked down his back, "so _perfect…_"

Ginny shivered delicately as his hands continued to explore her, rising to her full, round breasts and kneading them gently, just before taking one of her rosy nipples into his mouth.

"Oh Draco…" she breathed, running her fingers through the silk of his hair as he suckled on her breasts.

He lapped at her nipples, sucking more insistently as her breathing became uneven, her fingers tugging at his hair in a way that made his scalp sting, but was somehow not unpleasant.

She was already rocking her hips softly against his in anticipation, and she was wet and warm around his fingers when he teased her entrance. Unable to wait any longer, Draco positioned himself over her, spreading her thighs with an uncharacteristically brusque movement, his throat tight with a barely repressed growl.

"_Ei s'imerge ne la note_," Draco whispered passionately into Ginny's ear as he entered her, driving himself into her warm folds deeply, "_ei s'aderge in ver' le stelle_…"

The months of living in Italy, and of being constantly in Narcissa's presence, made Draco revert often to his mother tongue; by now Ginny understood enough of the language to grasp the meaning of his words, and her soul trembled like a flower.

_He plunges into the night. He reaches for the stars…_

A shiver broke out over her body, from her pulsing, aching center, spreading over her limbs and to the tips of her toes. Her face was flushed by passion as she looked up at him, following the brutal rhythm he had set, raising her hips to meet his as he slammed into her. Their eyes locked as he continued to pound into her, and she grasped at his hips, spreading her thighs a little wider and locking her ankles under his buttocks, demanding he hold back nothing.

"Don't fuck around, Draco," she ordered, when he began to slow his pace playfully. Ginny was in no mood to be teased; she wanted it, and she wanted it now.

The look of amusement on Draco's face turned into concentration as he lifted Ginny's hips, angling her body towards his to allow for deeper penetration.

She gasped when he drove the full length of his member into her again, supporting his upper body on both arms, which were braced on either side of her.

His stormy gray eyes were dark with desire as he lowered his face onto hers. "As you wish," he murmured, his lovely voice dropping an octave as he started thrusting harder and faster, their eyes still locked.

Ginny held on to him, trying to meet his brutal pace, a helpless moan escaping her lips when he entered her in that precise angle, his hard cock hitting that sweet spot over and over.

Draco gasped as she contracted around him, and pressed his lips against her ear.

"But remember, " he whispered gruffly as he continued to pound into her, "you asked for it…"

**X**

An hour later they finally got out of bed.

Slipping into a pair of green board shorts, Draco headed off to make breakfast while Ginny showered.

She emerged from the bathroom some time later, wrapped in a towel and brushing her long, red hair as she padded over to the kitchen. She paused to observe Draco's lean, toned figure at the stove, tending to scrambled eggs, and her heart did a joyous little back flip.

He was barefoot, and his legs looked beautiful under the board shorts he wore. His back was to her and Ginny noticed his hair had grown in the past months; it was now held back with a rubber band in a careless chignon at the back of his neck, and it wanted cutting, unless he was thinking of letting it grow again.

Ginny decided she liked it either way. Without comment she headed to the bedroom to get dressed, thinking it was almost too good that Draco Malfoy was in her tiny kitchen, making her breakfast.

_I have no right to ask God for anything again! _she told herself, smiling broadly at her own reflection.

During the past three months, Draco had practically moved into Ginny's small flat. His presence was evident everywhere: from the closet, where his clothes took up most of the space, to the bathroom, where the quality of the bath salts, soaps and hair care products had increased considerably; Draco had them brought in from a shop in Florence.

The sight of his toothbrush lying next to hers was enough to make a big, goofy smile spread across Ginny's face. Once it had even made her burst into tears; Draco had held her awkwardly, trying not to laugh, and she had punched him in the arm.

Draco liked to complain that Ginny had him "playing House Elf". He said it was preposterous that they had to cook their own meals and wash their own clothes, and he would sometimes have Tabby come over to do the cleaning when it was his turn and Ginny was away.

Ginny's entire flat was smaller than Draco's bedroom at the manor -a fact he enjoyed pointing out- but the truth of it was the Malfoy heir had never been as happy as he was now, living in this tiny space with peeling, off-white wall-paper. In fact, the only thing that marred Draco's happiness and sometimes caused him pain was the fact that after the first snippets of memory had come to him, that first night together, the flashbacks had come to a total halt and he still remembered nothing.

The thought made his fine brow contract as he set the breakfast table, but was momentarily forgotten at the sight of Ginny. She was in dressed in a sweater, a skirt, black tights and lace up Converse boots.

"You look nice," he said, forking some green eggs and ham onto her plate. "Are you going anywhere?"

"_We're_ going somewhere," she corrected, sitting across from him at the table. "It's Sunday, remember? We're meeting your mum at the manor this afternoon."

"Ah, yes," Draco said slowly.

There was a sudden tension in him, for the briefest moment, but before Ginny could begin to wonder what was troubling him, it was gone.

"Yeah, I remember. Hey, Gin, have you seen my trousers?" he asked casually. "The ones I was wearing last night?"

"Trousers? Oh, yeah," Ginny murmured absently, biting into a piece of toast as she flipped through the Daily Prophet. "I put it in the hamper, for the wash."

Draco's jaw dropped and he quickly strode to the bedroom, where said hamper stood against the wall.

"Why, was there something important in them?" Ginny called from the kitchen table, as he rifled through the front pockets of the trousers desperately.

"Uh, no," he called back, "it's just that they're dry-clean only…" He winced at the lie, but was comforted by the knowledge that at least that last part was true….

Suddenly, and to his great relief, his fingers closed around the delicate ring that had belonged to Mirabelle Malfoy, Lucius' great grandmother, and had been passed down from generation to generation of Malfoy heirs.

He had carried the ring around in his pocket all day yesterday, but the right moment had never come.

"The right moment is crucial," Narcissa Malfoy had said when she denied him the ring, three months back; Draco had wanted to propose to Ginny the very night they had gotten back together, but Narcissa had refused to give him the Malfoy family heirloom.

"Trust me, Draco," she had said gently, as he watched her in disbelief, "if you asked Ginny to marry you right now, she would say no."

"But why?" he had demanded, too indignant to take note of the whiny, desperate quality of his tone. "We love each other!"

"Precisely. And because she adores you she wants what's best for you," Narcissa had replied firmly. "You _just_ realized you're in love with her. You're not ready yet, darling. Please…Give it some time..."

Draco had stormed out of the manor, his mind made up to go to the first jeweler in sight and buy any old ring. But standing outside of Wilkins Jeweler's in Diagon Alley- the place with the big "we buy gold!" sign- he realized his mother may have had a point. Everything had happened so quickly…

Three months of living with Ginny had erased the doubts Draco hadn't really had to begin with. He was ready, and the right moment was now. Well, not _right_ now, barefoot and in nothing but his old shorts, certainly, but definitely some time today. And if the moment didn't happen, he would _make_ it.

"_Draaacooooo_!" Ginny called from the kitchen again, "your breakfast is getting cold!"

"Yeah!" he called back, holding the ring between his long, thin fingers- the black Malfoy stone glinted brightly, catching the morning light. "I'll be right there."

**X**

"Aren't we Flooing?" Ginny asked him that afternoon, gesturing towards the fireplace. They were both fully dressed, and Draco had just finished shrugging on his tailored black coat.

"No. We're Apparating," he informed her, helping her into a white cloak. He paused to clasp it at her neck, and kissed her full lips briefly.

A moment later both were standing in front of the imposing wrought iron gate of the Malfoy property. It swung open after a tap from Draco's wand, and he walked through, leading Ginny by the hand along the stone paved path that wove through the outer woods of the property.

"We're walking?" Ginny murmured wonderingly as they passed the carriages, which Draco ignored; it was a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the gate to the actual mansion.

"We're going to your lake," Draco replied calmly, not looking at her. "I want to show you something."

Ginny wondered what was up. Despite his casual tone, that tension she had picked up on earlier was back again, squaring his shoulders, making him a bit distant.

The sun was shining a pale yellow in the late fall sky overhead, and there were dry leaves fluttering in the cold air as the two made their way through the woods. A few minutes later they reached the lake, and watched it ripple with the breeze as the weeping willows, their foliage now orange and brown, swayed gently around them.

_The moment,_ Draco thought, looking down at Ginny. Her lovely face was flushed from the cold, her amber eyes going over the surface of the lake, watching the little boats bob in the distance.

"Ginny," he said softly, "there's something I've wanted to ask you for some time now…."

"What is it?" she said, in the same tone. She looked up into Draco's slate colored eyes, her entire body trembling at the possibility of what he might say.

"Ginny," he said, taking both of her hands in his. His face was expressionless, but there was a hot flush on his porcelain cheeks, and his eyes burned into hers intensely. "Will you marry me?"

Ginny's eyes widened with surprise, and her cheeks flushed a deep red. Her entire body burned with pleasure and shock, and her heart was thrumming almost painfully in her chest

"Draco!" was all she said, her eyes filling with tears when she saw the beautiful ring.

It was a simple platinum band, with a large black stone set in the center, twinkling in the wan light. For a moment Ginny was too stunned to speak.

Draco brought his hand up to her face and caressed it lightly, and the feel of his cold fingers on her skin made her shiver. Two teardrops fell onto her rosy cheeks, and she wiped away at them hastily.

"Oh, Draco," Ginny whispered softly, looking troubled, "I would _love_ to marry you, but…"

Draco found himself holding his breath as he waited for what she would say. Surely it was impossible she would refuse. Wasn't it?

Dry leaves continued to fall around them, and the wind seemed to blow colder, as he waited for her answer.

"Draco…aren't you too young to get married?" Ginny said finally.

"_What_?" he asked, surprise -and relief- evident in his voice. "Me? Am _I _too young to get married? Ginevra, you're a year younger than I am."

Ginny looked up at him and her lips curved into a rueful smile. "Oh Draco. I've been ready to spend my life with you since the first time you kissed me." She said it with such candor that Draco felt himself blush with pleasure.

"But Ginny," he replied softly, his intense eyes piercing hers, his voice barely a whisper, "it doesn't matter if I'm young; I know that I want _you._ There's nothing more to life, for me. You're all that I could ask for. You're everything…"

Ginny's eyes were glassy with tears again as Draco put his finger under her chin and raised her face to his. He looked at her in silence for a moment, and then his lips came down on hers lightly.

In that instant Ginny remembered his words, whispered against her ear after they'd first made love, so many years ago.

"Ginny Malfoy," she said softly, her voice breaking with emotion. "It has a nice ring to it. I kind of like the sound of it…"

Draco smiled warmly, his pewter eyes dancing as he looked back at her. "Me too," he answered.

But there was no flicker of remembrance in his stormy gray eyes at saying the very words she had answered him back then, and all the joy Ginny felt when Draco slipped the delicate ring onto her trembling finger could not mask the sudden stab of pain she felt at his not remembering.

**X**

Narcissa had been overjoyed upon hearing the news. She had thrown herself at Draco and Ginny, hugging them both with tears of happiness in her dark eyes.

Some time later, when she and Ginny sat at tea, her eyes had fallen on the platinum band in her future daughter-in-law's finger, and a shadow had crossed over her feautures. Ginny wondered if Narcissa was remembering the day when Lucius had placed that very ring in her own hand, and if she had loved him at the time, but didn't dare ask.

"Ginevra, I'm so happy," she said simply, clasping Ginny's hand in hers. "You're all I could have wanted for Draco."

Ginny squeezed Narcissa's hand briefly, remembering the day she had Flooed in, desperate to see Draco, to tell him who she was.

Narcissa had done so much for them. If it hadn't been for her…

The thought of her life without Draco, knowing that he was alive but couldn't remember her, was almost more than Ginny could bear.

"I'm moving back to Tuscany," the blond witch was saying, and her smile made her seem younger than her thirty-nine years. "I've wanted to for a very long time. Draco's the only thing that's kept me here, but he doesn't need me anymore."

Ginny looked at her in silence, surprise obvious in her features. She hadn't been expecting to hear that, and in spite of herself she felt a small twinge of relief for reasons she didn't fully understand.

"Besides," Narcissa added, grinning, "I remember when I got married and moved in here the last thing I wanted was some old bat of a mother-in-law running things. I wouldn't dream of doing that to you."

Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but Narcissa shushed her. "Malfoy Manor can only have one mistress, Ginny….Now is _your_ time. Lord knows I've held office here longer than I've wanted to…"

Ginny opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Draco's deep, silky voice.

"What's up, witches?" he said, standing in the doorway. He had been in what used to be Lucius' study, answering a call from the Shanghai branch of Malfoy Holdings.

"It's Monday morning in Shanghai," he had said apologetically, excusing himself when the call came in.

During the past few months Draco had slowly taken over as head of operations of Malfoy Holdings, the massive business emporium that now spanned three continents, thanks in large part to Lucius, who had ultimately fulfilled his dream of expansion.

Draco was leaning against the rich, dark wood of the door pane now, his hands in his pockets, looking casually gorgeous as per usual, and flicker of playfulness lighted his slate colored eyes.

"Ginny and I are discussing the wedding plans, Draco," Narcissa said, squeezing Ginny's hand, and the redhead realized Draco's mum wanted to break the news of her move to him in private. "A month is not a long time to plan. We have to get started on the dress, the guest list, the location, the catering, the music, the bridal entourage…"

Ginny smiled tiredly as she watched the beautiful witch speak. Despite everything they'd been through during the past months, and the undeniable affection she felt for her, Ginny always felt vaguely uneasy around her future mother-in-law.

Being around Draco's mother always set Ginny in a slightly melancholic mood, and as she watched her now -beautiful as ever, with a smile on her thin lips and in her voice, but her eyes cold and black as coal- Ginny suddenly realized why; Narcissa seemed to be carrying a heavy mask, and the effort of pretending not to see it sometimes was too much for Ginny.

"I must call Georgino, " the blond witch was saying now, stirring her tea absently. "He already has your measurements, and I'd trust no one else with something as delicate as a wedding gown…" Narcissa continued to chatter about the things that must be done- by _her_- and Ginny suppressed a sigh.

Molly Weasley would almost certainly not take well to this monopolization of the wedding planning.

But then Ginny's eyes latched onto Draco's, and looking into the silver depths, she decided that -mask or not- she would forever be grateful to Narcissa Malfoy and her meddlesome ways.

**X**

Later that night Draco and Ginny Apparated at the Burrow and broke the news to everyone.

No one was particularly surprised; during the past few months, the Weasleys had more or less accepted Draco Malfoy as a permanent fixture in Ginny's life.

The first time he had visited the Burrow, Fred and Mrs. Weasley had been the only ones present in the living room, where they seemed to have been in the midst of a very serious conversation over tea.

Both had gaped at Ginny and the Malfoy heir, who stood there uncertainly, their hands tightly joined. For a moment no one spoke, and then Fred turned his bright blue eyes on Draco and said, "Are you here to kill us all, then?"

"_Excuse_ me?" Draco answered, raising an eyebrow.

"He doesn't remember that, Fred!" Ginny snapped angrily. "Don't be such a jerk!"

"Ginevra! Don't speak like that to your brother!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"So you don't remember?" Fred said to Draco, ignoring the women. "The last time you were here you threatened to kill us all."

"He did NOT threaten. He _hinted_ he might…and anyway he didn't mean that," Ginny cut in hotly.

Draco, who had been looking from one sibling to the other, suddenly seemed to piece things together, and blushed deeply.

"I see," he said quietly, meeting Fred's eyes again. "Well, I can tell you I've since desisted from that idea…."

Fred had looked at Draco shrewdly, as if weighing him. For a moment he said nothing, and then his handsome face broke into a wide grin.

"Forget it, mate. I know you didn't mean it. You were just trying to scare us so we'd keep Gin-Gin away from you." He paused, seemingly lost in thought. "I guess we owe you, anyway, for bringing this one here" -he gestured to Ginny carelessly- "back from zombie-land."

Draco smirked. "I try," he said pompously, giving an elegant shrug.

Ginny turned to glare up at him.

"Yeah, she's always been kind of strange, that Ginny has," Fred continued, shrugging as well.

"Don't you talk about me as if I weren't here!" the redhead said peremptorily, stomping her foot.

Mrs. Weasley looked from Fred to Draco to Ginny in confusion, and then sighed.

"Mr. Malfoy, won't you have a seat," she said at last.

"Oh, please," Draco said easily, flashing a smile -Mrs. Weasley was done for- "call me _Draco."_

Ever since then, Draco had been on very good terms with Fred, and had developed a budding friendship with Ron; both had a passion for Quidditch, a love of chess and an important place in Ginny's life.

Mrs. Weasley, seeing how devoted Draco was to Ginny, loved him all the more for it, and now treated him as if he were a blond Weasley cousin: with warmth and familiarity, though certainly not the same maternal affection with which she treated Harry.

Everyone else ultimately came around, and after a while it seemed to them as if Ginny and Malfoy -as they still sometimes referred to him- had always been together.

**X**

A week later, at Ginny and Draco's engagement dinner, the boys –as the Weasley sons and Harry and Draco were now collectively referred to- gathered outside in the Burrow's garden at the instance of the twins to have a shot of tequila.

The shot glasses were produced, filled with the gleaming, transparent liquid, and promptly distributed under the pale moonlight.

The men stood in a circle under an old oak, shivering a bit in the cold, but such a toast was not possible under the watchful glare of Molly Weasley. Not so much because of the tequila, but for the 'endearing' words uttered by a menacing -and distinctly wolfish-looking- Bill Weasley.

"If you so much as lay a hand on Ginny, or hurt her in any way, we _will_ kill you, Malfoy, understood?" The eldest Weasley son's usually amicable face had turned into a cold mask that could have rivaled Lucius Malfoy's, his normally warm voice now a deep growl.

Draco's steel gray eyes met his calmly, then took in the serious faces of the men that surrounded him; even Percy managed to look like he was willing to rip into Draco, if need be.

"I'll drink to that," the blond said solemnly, raising his shot glass. "And if you don't kill me for it, I'll kill myself."

"Hear, hear!" George proclaimed merrily, raising his glass as well, and instantly the mood was lightened.

Grinning at each other, all eight men raised their glasses and tipped back their fiery contents, their eyes stinging and their throats burning.

They laughed, particularly at Ron, whose tequila had somehow ended up coming out of his nose.

"You have no idea how that stings!" he was choking out furiously, his eyes watering. "I'd like to see that happen to _you_, Fred!"

As they walked back into the house, a cheerful Bill clapped Draco on the back warmly, once again back to being his famously laid-back self.

"Sorry, mate; we had to. Gin's our only sister, she's the baby, you know." He flashed Draco a genuine smile, but the platinum blond couldn't forget the feral mask that had slipped over his features not five minutes ago. "Big brother's duty and all that."

"Yeah, mate," Charlie agreed, grinning winsomely. "I really _would_ kill you and all, but I know I won't have to. I've never seen Gin-Gin as happy."

"DRACO!" Molly Weasley's voice thundered from the dining room, breaking into the men's conversation. "Come now, dear! Your lasagna's getting cold!"

Bill and Charlie exchanged eye rolls, and looked at Draco sympathetically as they walked into the crowded dining room.

She had served him and Harry twice as much lasagna as she had everyone else, Draco noted with dismay.

From across the table, Narcissa Malfoy grinned wickedly at him. She knew her son was not a heavy eater, but he wouldn't dream of leaving any of Mrs. Weasley's food on his plate.

The Malfoy heir made a face at his mum, who was seated next to Fleur Weasley. No one was greatly surprised that the two had hit it off, their silvery blond heads inclined towards each other as they giggled like young girls, speaking in rapid French. They both possessed the same Veela beauty, and Narcissa, well preserved despite nearing forty, looked so young and lively that the two could have been sisters.

Draco smiled absently and scanned the room for Ginny, who was at the moment walking in from the kitchen with a big bowl of Russian potato salad. Her flaming red hair was loose like a halo over her shoulders, her brow slightly scrunched as she looked around the well-laden table for a place to drop her charge. Draco caught her eye and was greeted by one of her million-watt smiles, the kind that made his legs feel like jelly.

"What were you guys doing out there?" she inquired when she sat down next to him, pressing his hand warmly. Her amber eyes were dancing with curiosity.

Ginny's fiancé took her hand and kissed it, his lips brushing her skin softly. The black Malfoy stone in her ring glinted whenever her hand moved, a constant reminder that Ginny belonged to him.

Draco couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Nothing," he said dismissively, "they were just…_toasting_ me."

**X**

The month before the wedding seemed to fly by for everyone but the two who were getting married. At Narcissa's insistence Draco had moved back to the manor; she said it was her last month to have her son living with her, and would not be denied.

Because of their busy schedules -with Ginny's work at the Ministry, and Draco being the head of a multinational business emporium worth billions of galleons- there were days when they didn't see each other at all.

As promised, Narcissa had commissioned Georgino Frometta to make the bride's wedding gown, and on the week before the wedding Ginny, accompanied by her mother, finally tried it on at the last fitting.

It was a delicate, strapless white gown, with a bodice made of hand-woven Italian lace and an ample, flowing skirt made of bead-embroidered clusters of silk. The veil was of mantilla style lace and trailed down to the floor in what Georgino referred to as "Cathedral length, darling."

Simply put, Ginny's wedding dress was a work of art. She was stunned at how beautiful she looked, even without any make-up, and with her hair done up in a careless ponytail.

Narcissa clapped her hands together in delight and kissed a very pleased Georgino soundly on both cheeks, firing praises in Italian, and Molly Weasley, standing next to her only daughter, dissolved into tears.

"Oh, mum!" Ginny protested, hugging her mother awkwardly because her veil got in the way, "please, mum! Don't cry!"

**X**

That same evening Ginny joined her friends and family at the Burrow for an impromptu dinner. Draco was in Germany finalizing an important business deal, and so Ginny attended alone.

After eating until she felt her shirt might burst at the seams, she went up to her old bedroom with Hermione and Luna, chatting animatedly about her honeymoon plans.

"We're going to a beach resort...IN TAHITI!" Ginny shrieked happily. "We're going to have our own over-water bungalow in Bora Bora!"

A chorus of excited giggling broke out, and Ginny sighed happily when it finally subsided.

Ever since she had read about the five-star hotel -in a travel magazine at a dentist's office, at the age of fourteen- Ginny had dreamed of a Bora Bora vacation. But at 6,390 galleons per person per night, her dream was only that: a dream. Enter Draco Malfoy and his ridiculously vast fortune…This was the one thing Ginny was willing to let herself get spoiled on.

She had always dreamed of traveling around the world, and as far as she was concerned, Tahiti was just the start of it.

"Well, I suppose you can tag along on my business trips," Draco had drawled when Ginny had told him of her globetrotting dreams.

She had made a very lewd up-and-down motion with her middle finger for all response, and he had burst out laughing.

"Why, Ginny! What a rude gesture to make at your future husband!" Narcissa had cried upon entering the room, and Draco had laughed harder at the way his bride-to-be blushed.

"Wow, _Tahiti_! How exotic, and how beautiful!" Hermione was saying now.

"Tahiti, I've always wanted to go!" cried Luna unexpectedly. "There's Blibbering Humdingers there!"

Ginny and Hermione stared at the blond before exchanging stunned glances; they were used to her by now, but there were times like these when she still managed to surprise them.

Suddenly they all burst out giggling again, and even Luna joined in, to her two friends' relief; they would have felt like they were making fun of her…well, they sort of were.

When their giggles quieted down, Ginny found herself sobering. "Draco wanted to go to Italy," she said, grimacing a little guiltily. "He wants to show me his villa and his vineyards… but I convinced him we could always go there, since his mum is moving to Florence."

"Ginny," Hermione said quietly after a moment, "Malf- uh, _Draco_ still doesn't remember, does he?"

Ginny's face fell, and she caught her lip between her teeth before replying. "No," she said softly, turning away, "he doesn't."

Hermione sighed. "I still think you should insist on the Pensieve. Harry has one. Seeing the images…"

Ginny was shaking her head, but it was Luna who spoke, shocking her friends for the second time that evening.

"He doesn't want to use a Pensieve. He would feel as if the memories weren't his, as if he were a stranger. He would hate himself," the blond said dreamily.

Ginny looked at her in silence, too stunned to speak.

Luna hadn't so much as crossed a word with Draco, other than to say "pass the salt" at a random Weasley dinner. But she had just stated the exact reason why her fiancé refused to resort to a Pensieve.

"I would feel like I did when I was reading about myself in the newspaper clippings mum showed me," Draco had told Ginny, when she had suggested borrowing Harry's Pensieve, "I knew what I was reading was true, I mean, it was _there_. But I felt like a fraud. That just wasn't _me_…Besides," he had added haughtily, "I _have_ a Pensieve, thank you very much. I don't need to _borrow_ one…" _From Harry freaking Potter!_ he had wanted to add, but refrained.

Ginny continued to look at Luna, who seemed to be staring into space dreamily. "Yes, Luna," she said softly, smiling sadly as her friend met her eyes, "you're right...that's exactly it."

"Oh, Gin…I'm sure he'll remember, eventually…" Hermione murmured, seeing the sadness in her friend's eyes. And even if he doesn't…"

"I don't need him to anymore, Mione…" Ginny said quietly, but the moment she said it, she wondered if it was true.

**X**

Draco and Ginny married on November 1st.

It was a cold, cloudy Saturday, and Ginny laughed joyfully as she looked out of the window of her black carriage on the way to the church: her enormous white skirts took up most of the space in the carriage, and the clouds were nearly the exact shade of gray as Draco's eyes.

The wedding ceremony was scheduled to be at four pm at the Star of the Sea church in the center of London. The affair was to be small, but with the entire Weasley clan in attendance, and with Narcissa's Italian family Portkeying in -not to mention the friends and work colleagues of the couple- close to 200 people ended up gathering at the temple.

The small, but beautiful church was filled with delicate pink flowers, imported from Paris at the insistence of Narcissa. Along the sides of the main aisle, dry, golden trees, leafless and of a frail beauty, lined the way for the bride, creating an archway leading to the groom.

Draco, his silvery blond hair cut in layers, but slightly longer than he had worn it in the past years, stood at the front of the church. He was dressed in a black double-breasted frock coat suit with a matching waistcoat, a white shirt, and a champagne colored craveat.

People stared at him more insistently today, for he seemed to be glowing with beauty and youth, more so than ever. A feverish blush covered his usually pale countenance, and his lead gray eyes seemed to sparkle, alive with happiness. He was oblivious to this and to the attention, however.

The only thing on Draco's mind right now was Ginny. His heart seemed to have slowed painfully as he stood there, waiting for her. For one brief, panic filled moment he wasn't sure she'd come.

Then he told himself he was being silly.

Draco waited.

He heard opera music.

He felt sure he must be going mad. He felt a drop of sweat form on his brow and then slide down the side of his face, despite the slight chill of the air.

He thought two things:

_1. I never sweat._

_2. The tenor._

The tenor; it was Ilmo de Muzarka, the 'undiscovered' opera singer Narcissa had Flooed in from Sicily, complete with string quartet_._

_He is singing Nessum Dorma, act three of Turandot _-Draco's mind registered- _It follows Ginny must be about to come in._

_It follows._

He wiped the sweat away.

The tenor's voice was lovely.

Draco had had his doubts upon meeting him, mostly because his head was shaped like an egg.

_Or a glob of unbaked bread… _

…_Really, what horrible thoughts to have about someone who's traveled thousands of miles to sing at your wedding. _

Draco didn't mean to be catty…_It's just that…OHMYGOD-THERE-SHE-IS._

Ginny was standing at the entrance of the church, looking beautiful and radiant. One hand held a lovely, round bouquet of white flowers, the other was hooked through the arm of an undeniably proud Arthur Weasley, whose eyes were suspiciously moist.

Draco took in Ginny, her dress, her hair, which hung loose on her shoulders and down her back, shinning like rivulets of liquid copper under the lace of her veil. Her lovely face was shinning with happiness as her amber eyes sought his, and he saw love and bliss dancing there.

In that instant Draco felt as if his chest had been pierced by an arrow. He watched through wide, unblinking eyes as Ginny approached him, like a lovely vision of white, or an angel, while the tenor continued to boom out the powerful, lovely notes of "Nessum Dorma".

Draco's eyes burned with tears, and he felt sure he'd never been as in love with her as he was right now.

And quite suddenly, he realized that he was wrong.

Draco distinctly remembered feeling his chest swell with love to the point of breaking, nearly five years ago, under the canopy of the stars in the heavens, and the swaying leaves of a weeping willow.

Suddenly he saw her, saw Ginny with amazing clarity, as if she were standing before him, dressed in a forest green gown, her face streaked with tears. He felt her small hand in his, and he heard himself say, "You're mine now. No matter what happens, you are mine. And I am yours…"

It all flooded back to him then, and he was entirely helpless against it, a thin reed swaying in the brutal waters of a wild river.

Images rushed through his mind, and a myriad of intense sensations rippled through him nearly painfully, making him feel as if he'd been caught in the current of a live wire.

A flash of red at the entrance of the Great Hall. A magnificent head of red hair flowing in long, unbroken waves that caught his attention even in spite of himself.

"_Malfoy_? No, no; it's _Draco_ to you, love," he was telling her, his voice dripping with mockery as he struggled to feign mild interest, though the truth was he felt as if he were burning in the fire of his own lust.

She trembled against him, her eyes dancing with desire and something else, and he _liked_ that.

She was laughing and chatting with Hermione Granger, sitting directly under a ray of bright sunlight. Her lovely red hair glowed softly, like it was on fire, and gave her smiling face a warmth that lit up his heart.

He could feel her tender lips pressed against his chastely, he could feel his soul opening for her, like a flower.

The look in her eyes, after she'd kissed him…awe and hope.

_And Ginny Weasley has the cutest, most delicious looking arms I've ever seen, so smooth and round, makes you want to just bite ever so softly, knead a little, wrap them around your neck..._

_D is for Dragon, this D around your neck. I've given it to you so you know that you're mine._

Ginny lying in his arms peacefully, her head under his chin smelling of green apples and he was trying to remember the last time he had felt so complete in another person's company.

_Ginevra, I will never forget this. For as long as I live...I won't forget..._

The horrible things he was saying to her, not meaning a thing. "I don't need any saving. Especially not from a _Weasley_." The taste of her still navigating on his lips, and he said, "A Malfoy would never- would never…"

"Just _stop_ it!" she cried, covering her ears with her hands childishly.

_I wish that I could get her out of my mind. I wish that I could stop thinking about her…_

And he was staring at Pansy blankly now as she said, "The Weasley girl finally snagged Potter!" He was sitting there, listening to the news, with the distinct feeling that a broomstick was being jammed into his chest. It seemed his lungs were suddenly quite incapable of expanding properly.

The hurt of seeing her at the ball, looking so lovely, on the arm of Harry Potter._ So it's true. _The anger and the white-hot rage.

The relief of knowing he'd been wrong. The fear that she might not want to listen to his apology for all the horrible, horrible things he'd said.

And the weeping willow…

"I'm yours, Draco. Always…"

That glorious moment, that look in her eyes, the feel of her small, warm fingers clasping his.

"Are you sure you want to come in?" the relief at feeling her squeeze his hand firmly in reply.

"You're so fucking beautiful, Gin," he was murmuring against her porcelain skin. He looked at her, her eyes were closed, her rosy, plump lips parted as she gasped, trembling with pleasure. "You're perfect…"

Her small hands clenching and unclenching in his as he gently claimed her as his own.

"Ginny Malfoy." The look of surprise that registered in her flushed features as she turned to look at him. "I don't know, but it has a nice ring to it. I kinda like the sound of that…" Her flaming red locks resting on his chest, his hands running through her soft, luxuriant hair.

The chill that was gripping his heart, that made blood freeze in his veins because Lucius was saying to him, "And you thought I wouldn't find out?"

The horrible train ride back to London, together for the last time. The quiet despair of loving her so much and not knowing if he would ever see her again…

"We have to say goodbye here, then. My father will be waiting outside…" a hoarse voice that didn't seem quite like his own. Ginny was biting her lips desperately, not really looking at him anymore.

"Come back to me. Please come back to me, Draco."

"Don't wait for me, Ginevra. You'll probably never see me alive again…"

The pain of being apart, of existing separately from her. Of not being able to see her, to look into her eyes, to hear her lovely voice. And the years, the years of waiting that fell over him irremissibly, the loneliness and the pain of her absence.

Flying through the night sky, the chill air of winter biting against his skin. He let the hood of his cloak slip back so he could feel the wind through his hair and he was thinking of her.

_I told you not to wait, but I _knew_ you would._

And all of a sudden Draco was perfectly aware that Ginny calling out his name, and his eyes, still glazed and unfocused, flicked over to her.

Ginny in a wedding dress; his greatest, most secret dream, come true. He couldn't see her face anymore, but he could clearly see the child.

The child had a lovely face, eyes gray as mercury and hair the color of melted copper and gold. And he knew the child's name. It was _Julien _he was looking at.

Happiness flooded his soul again, and it was just too much; it was nearly painful.

But then things came into focus again. He heard Ginny's voice say his name again, a note of panic in her voice as she broke free of Arthur Weasley and ran to him.

The glorious singing had stopped. He hadn't even noticed that everyone had risen to their feet, like in a Quidditch match, when the Seeker's fingers brush the Snitch.

He recalled the distinct feel of the Snitch in his hand, like a beating heart, and didn't even feel himself fall.

**X**

He didn't know how much time had passed when his mind surfaced to consciousness again.

Draco could feel a hard surface under his back, and he knew he must be lying on his back. He could hear Ginny's voice in the background, and the sweet scent of fresh flowers filled his nostrils.

"What's happened to him?" Ginny was asking, and the note of despair in her voice made his heart catch.

She was crying.

Draco opened his eyes at last, and saw that he was lying on a stretcher in a small back room of the church.

He looked around and Ginny, still in her beautiful dress, broke away from her father and the priest and threw herself at him.

"I remember you," Draco said to Ginny softly, smiling. His silver gray eyes were sparkling with joy. "I don't know how I could have ever forgotten…"

"What?" Ginny said, her voice trembling. "Draco…?"

"I remember you," he said again, his eyes meeting hers. "I remember."

"Everything?" she whispered, throwing herself over him and hugging him desperately as his words sunk in.

Her warmth and her lovely scent, like strawberries and cream, enveloped him briefly, and then she drew away to look into his eyes again.

"_Everything_?" she repeated weakly, not daring to hope.

"I remember the way you looked at me when I told you I loved you, under the weeping willow." Draco paused to observe her, and his lips curved into a smile. "Kind of the same way you're looking at me now."

He sat up and clasped her small hands in his, ignoring her protests and the pounding in his head. Ginny's amber eyes were fixed on him so intently he could actually feel their weight on him.

"_And I saw Julien…"_ this Draco didn't voice, but kept in his heart along with the knowledge that when this child came into his life, he would do everything to be a better father than Lucius had ever been to him.

"_Draco_! Darling, are you alright?" Narcissa demanded anxiously from the doorway.

It was then the two realized that they'd been left alone in the tiny backroom of the church.

"I've never been better, mum," Draco said, turning to look at Ginny. "Did we get married?"

Ginny stared at him in horrified silence, and then burst out crying. "_No_!" she wailed, her amber eyes shimmering with tears. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Draco laughed. "Ginevra I'm _fine_! Really, I am." He held her in his arms as she wept, trying to wrap her mind -and her emotions- around the fact that Draco had remembered.

And Hermione had been right, she thought, the key to everything was within him, and Draco had finally unlocked their past together, somehow.

"Draco!" Ginny sobbed, clinging to the front of his frock, "I've never been happier in my entire life!"

Draco wrapped his arms tightly around her trembling frame, and kissed the top of her head lovingly. "Neither have I, love," he whispered softly, so only she could hear.

Narcissa smiled and slipped away discreetly to reassure the guests.

**X**

Fifteen minutes later, Draco and Ginny were standing before the priest. He held her hand in his, and both were smiling broadly. Tears of joy slid gently down the sides of Ginny's face, but she had given up on trying to wipe away at them.

The string quartet played "Flight Over Africa" gently, as the priest read St. Paul's beautiful epistle.

_If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, _

_but have not love,_

_I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal;_

_Love is patient, love is kind,_

_It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud._

_Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. _

_Love never ends..._

There wasn't a dry eye to be seen among the ladies in attendance, and even some of the men, the groom included, found their eyes were stinging with tears.

Draco knew he looked like an idiot, and he also knew that certain guests -among them at least three of the Weasley brothers- would never let him forget the fact that he had fainted at his own wedding.

He found that at the moment he did not care.

All that mattered was that feeling, that amazing feeling of perfect happiness he felt, and that when he met Ginny's lovely eyes, he saw the exact emotion reflected in the warm amber depths that -he had come to realize- were his home.

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_**FIN**_

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